I’m a soldier of Gandhis, will fit into any role my leader wants me to: Kishori Lal Sharma, Cong Amethi candidate

HT’s Umesh Raghuvanshi speaks to Kishori Lal Sharma in Amethi about his past, his connection with the Gandhi family and the people of the constituency, and how he proposes to win the May 7 election.

A Congress loyalist, Kishori Lal Sharma (63) is now the party’s candidate for Amethi, the Lok Sabha seat that was synonymous with the Gandhi family until Rahul Gandhi lost it to Smriti Irani in 2019. After his entry into the party as a coordinator in 1983, he has dedicatedly worked in the Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies in various capacities for four decades. Sharma has now emerged as one of the most trusted lieutenants of the Gandhis who has been substituted for Rahul in one of the family’s strongholds. Excerpts from the interview

Kishori Lal Sharma, Congress’ Amethi candidate (Deepak Kumar/HT)

How and when did you come to Amethi?

I am from Bhawanipur, a village in Himachal Pradesh that has a temple made by the Pandavas. My family’s in Ludhiana, Punjab. My wife and two daughters are in Punjab. While one of my daughters is a working professional, the other one is an entrepreneur.

It was Rajiv Gandhi who brought me to Amethi in 1983 as a Congress coordinator. He had launched a training programme for the Indian Youth Congress. I was one of the people selected for the training. My mentor and cousin Satpal Parashar, who became an MLA in 1984, had sent me for the training.

What have you learnt in Amethi?

I still follow many things that Rajiv Gandhi taught me during the training programme. I have also learnt from Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. I have learnt humility from the Gandhi family.

If you were not in Amethi what else would you have done?

We’ve our base in Punjab. I have my own business. I don’t draw any salary from the Congress. My father established a bakery 70 years ago. That bakery is still there. If I had not come here, I would have probably expanded my bakery business. But I feel attached to this place, and always maintained a low profile in Punjab. People have a lot of expectations and I enjoy working for them. I have spent 10 to 12 days every month here for the past 40 years.

How did you work for the people?

We used to have Congress governments at the Centre and in the state as well. Rajiv Gandhi became an MP in 1981 and the prime minister in 1984. Whatever complaints we received from people were forwarded to the government and resolved immediately.

After Rajiv Gandhi?

Captain Satish Sharma was elected as the MP from Amethi after Rajiv Gandhi’s death in 1991. Captain Sharma also focused on the development of Amethi. He did his bit to set up the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology and bottling plants among other things. After Rajiv Gandhi’s death, we took out a yatra covering a distance of about 2,700 km from Amethi to Perambadur in Tamil Nadu. It was named “from karambhoomi (workplace) to balidanbhumi (place of sacrifice)”. We got a lot of love from people... Later, people persuaded Sonia Gandhi to join active politics. She did so and worked hard to strengthen the Congress.

Your take on getting a Congress ticket?

The Gandhi family is in the heart of people. I am an ordinary soldier of the Gandhis. I follow whatever they tell me. I will fit into any role my leader wants me to. I will try to fulfil that role with complete honesty, whether the role is of a hero or any other. They asked me to serve the people. No one is complete. But I tried my best. I try to ensure that any action of mine does not cause them any harm.

When did you find out about you getting a ticket?

I came to know about it after 12 am on May 3. Although, I can’t reveal the name of the person who informed me about this.

How will you counter the BJP’s campaign?

No one can counter others. People counter their leaders after assessing their performance. She (Smriti) should tell what she has done for the constituency in the last five years. We (Congress) will tell the people what we have done since 1982. It doesn’t matter what she tells people about us or what we tell people about her. People tell me how they were treated in the last five years.

Your comments on the BJP’s campaign.

When people elect you as an MP you get entitlement for a lot of facilities. So, people’s sentiments should be respected. You can’t be arrogant in your dealings with people. You can’t scare people. Even now old cases are being opened. You can get a list of such cases from respective police stations. This will only turn people against them.

What about the incident outside the Congress office last night?

Such incidents did not take place in Amethi in the past. This is not the culture of Amethi. People are stunned. They are not used to such culture. They want to know what all is happening in Amethi. We used to have very peaceful elections in the constituency. People of the constituency have strong bonds, and such incidents will not disturb their bonds. They (BJP leaders) are not getting proper feedback. Such incidents are only hurting their interest.

What led to Rahul Gandhi’s defeat in 2019?

There were many reasons for the Congress’ defeat in Amethi in 2019. The people of Amethi, however, were not the reason. The role of the government and the official machinery affected the people. There was some problem with our management of elections. We were not able to keep in touch with our workers at the grassroots level. Our monitoring was not effective.

Is Rahul Gandhi keeping in touch with the people? What did he do for Amethi?

Rahul Gandhi has always kept in touch with the people. We helped people during the Covid pandemic. We distributed medicines.

Amethi got many development projects because of Rahul Gandhi. We got national highways and industries. But when the Congress was voted out of power, the incumbent government indulged in vendetta against Amethi. Our schemes were either closed or not funded. The projects to set up a food park and papermill were shelved. The IIIT campus was shut. Many spinning mills are lying closed.

What are the BJP’s claims?

They (BJP leaders) are only talking about the schemes that the Union government runs across the country. The distribution of free LPG cylinders does not work. A survey of how many people get these cylinders refilled will tell the truth.

Are you ready for the polls?

We are ready. Although we have little time left, we are holding meetings with our workers and people...we already have a strong party organisation in Amethi.

Have you worked on caste combinations?

The Gandhi family does not work with caste combinations in mind. They may matter in local elections, but not in parliamentary elections.

Your take on statements that the Congress has conceded its defeat in Amethi?

...There is no machine that can read people’s minds. The people will decide the fate of the candidates.