"Will fight together and ensure Kishori Lal Sharma's victory": Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
May 03, 2024
Amethi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 3 : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday came out to support the candidature of KL Sharma, an old party loyalist, who was named as the Party candidate from Ameth.
She urged the party workers to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and ensure Kishori Lal Sharma's victory.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "I am in a rush because I have to leave for Raebareli to attend the nomination filing of 'bhaiya' (Rahul Gandhi). Kishori Lal Sharma is going to contest from Amethi and you have known him for 40 years. He is very well aware of the issues of Amethi. We will fight together and will ensure Kishori Lal Sharma's victory."
She further said that the Congress wanted to bring back the politics of truth in Amethi.
"We want to bring back politics of truth and service in Amethi. I will come back to Raebareli on April 6 and then stay here till the end of the polls. The BJP fights the polls on the strength of money, we will fight on the basis of people. We will spread this message throughout the entire country that we need the politics of service back in the country," she further added.
While Priyanka herself is not contesting, her brother and senior leader Rahul Gandhi was named by Congress as the candidate from Rae Bareli after he lost the Amethi seat to Union minister Smriti Irani in 2019 after winning it in 2004.
Congress party's KL Sharma will go head-to-head with Union Minister Smriti Irani, who claimed victory over Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, flipping the Congress bastion seat. Sharma who filed his nomination thanked the party for reposing faith in him.
"I would like to thank Khargeji, Sonia ji, Rahul ji, and Priyanka ji for giving a "chotte" karyakarta like me an opportunity to contest from a seat that is their family bastion. I will work hard. I have been working in this constituency for the last 40 years. I came here in 1987 as a Youth Congress member and from then I have been here. I started my career with Rajiv ji. In 1987, Rajiv ji brought me here. Then the circumstances were such that I stayed here. We made Sonia ji win from here, Rajiv ji win from here," KL Sharma said while speaking to ANI on his candidature.
"Rahul Gandhi is not someone who runs away from the ground. He is fighting for the whole country. As far as votes are concerned, no one can predict anything. It all lies in the hands of the public. Also, I will be meeting with Priyanka Gandhi today," he added.
Rahul represented Amethi in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2019. His father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, too, was an elected member of Amethi in the Lower House from 1981 till his death in 1991. Sonia Gandhi contested elections from here in 1999 before passing the baton on to Rahul in 2004.
Voting in Amethi and Rae Bareli will be held on May 20 in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls. The results of all Lok Sabha seats will be declared on June 4.