I'm Not on Gandhi Family's Payroll, I Take Salary from Congress: Party's Amethi Candidate KL Sharma

Amethi: The Congress party's pick for the high-profile constituency of Uttar Pradesh's Amethi against BJP's Smriti Irani for the Lok Sabha polls, KL Sharma, on Sunday, said he was a salaried man from the Congress party and was not on the payroll of the Gandhi family. 

Speaking to ANI, Sharma said, "It was the decision of the party (to field him from Amethi) leadership because earlier it was not finalized who will contest from here... The thing is that now I will defeat Smriti Irani. This is a big statement I am making today... 'Mai koi Naukri nahi kar raha Gandhi Parivar ki'. I am a politician. I came here in 1983 through the Youth Congress. I take salary from Congress but I am a pure politician..."

Close aide of Gandhi family

Kishori Lal Sharma, primarily known as KL Sharma, has been the representative of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for decades. Sharma, who's been a loyalist of the Congress party since 1983, hails from Punjab's Ludhiana. 

Sharma is considered to be a close confidant of the Gandhi family, especially Sonia Gandhi. In 2022, criticising the party workers for quitting the party, Sharma, during the Assembly Elections in UP, had hit back saying it was the Congress party that had groomed all the leaders in politics. 

It was KL Sharma, who spoke to the media on Sonia Gandhi's behalf when the latter issued a letter to the public about her decision to not contest elections from Rae Bareli

Amethi connect since 1991

Sharma's journey with the Congress began with his association with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. After Rajiv Gandhi's demise, Sharma also worked with Captain Satish Sharma in Amethi in 1991.

Sharma was associated with Sonia Gandhi as the one in charge of the Amethi constituency that she had contested in 1999. Eventually, Sharma assumed the role of overseeing both the Raebareli and Amethi seats. When Sonia Gandhi vacated the Amethi seat and relocated to Raebareli, Sharma followed suit, relocating alongside her.

Gandhi siblings unwilling to contest polls

Even though Rahul Gandhi filed the nominations for Raebareli on Friday morning, reports were rife that both the Gandhi siblings - Rahul and Priyanka - were unwilling to contest the Lok Sabha elections either from Amethi or Rae Bareli. Sources said Congress leaders had made great efforts to convince at least one of the siblings to enter into the fray.