Amethi: The confusion in the Congress over its candidate for the traditional Gandhi family seat of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh persisted on Friday even after official announcement of Kishori Lal Sharma's candidature.  

Sharma looked clueless and befuddled after the Congress announced him as the candidate for the Amethi seat. While the reporter assured him that his name was officially announced by the party, Sharma said, “I have no idea if the ticket has been given to me. I will speak to you once my party let me know about the candidature.”

Ending a month long suspense, the Congress on Friday announced its candidates on Rae Bareli and Amethi seats, the traditional Gandhi family segments. While KL Sharma was pitted from Amethi against BJP's Smriti Irani, the incumbent MP, Congress named Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli seat. 

Notably, the announcement for two crucial seats came just ahead of the deadline of filing nomination. The two will file their nomination papers on Friday, the last date for the filing of nominations for the seats that will go to polls on May 20 in the fifth round of the seven-phase general elections. 

As the Congress dithered for long, the BJP announced the candidature of UP Minister Dinesh Pratap Singh from Rae Bareli segment, where he faced defeat against Sonia Gandhi in 2019 but did manage to jolt her votebank. 

Who Is KL Sharma? 

Kishori Lal Sharma is a native of Ludhiana, Punjab. In 1983, he first came to Amethi as a Congress Worker.

Kishori has always been a close confidant of the Gandhi family and Congress. He was associated with former PM Rajiv Gandhi. After Rajiv Gandhi's demise, he continued to be connected with the family and became a a close ally of Sonia Gandhi.

Kishori Lal Sharma played a key role in Sonia Gandhi's first electoral win in 1991 after she entered politics.

KL Sharma began managing the party's affairs in Amethi and Rae Barerli. He also worked for the Congress Party in Bihar and Punjab.