Congress’s Amethi pick Kishori Lal Sharma has Ludhiana roots, joined Gandhis in 1980s

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, May 4

Congress candidate for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat Kishori Lal Sharma, who will face Union minister Smriti Irani, has been playing a crucial role in the political battles of the Gandhis in Raebareli and Amethi for over four decades. He belongs to the industrial city of Ludhiana.

“I have been working in this constituency for 40 years and know it well. I have been entrusted with a big responsibility by the Gandhi family and will work hard to live up to their expectations,” said Sharma, who first went to Amethi in 1987 and has stayed there mostly since. All this was possible as he had a supportive family back home in Ludhiana.

A Congress loyalist, Sharma would spend 25 days a month on his political ventures and return home for five days. Talking to The Tribune over the phone, he said, “I have been associated with the party since my student days. I came to Delhi after graduating from Arya College in Ludhiana.

A programme was launched by Rajiv Gandhi under which fresh graduates who believed in the Congress ideology underwent training. A few were handpicked and sent to different parts of the country and assigned the duty of building cadre and monitor the 20-point programme of then PM Indira Gandhi. I worked for a few months in Madhya Pradesh. Later, a camp was held in 1983 in which 400 boys from all over the country participated and a potential team of 10 was chosen. I was one among them. We were given the responsibility of Amethi. I was 22 years old and was made in-charge of one-and-a-half blocks. This is how my journey in Amethi began.”

Back home, Sharma’s wife Kiran runs the affairs of both the family and business. The family has automobiles dealership and petrol pumps in the city. The couple has two daughters — one married and the other just completed her studies. His nomination has brought cheer to the city Congress and his neighbourhood in New Shivaji Nagar.