Amethi (Uttar Pradesh): Congress leader Kishori Lal Sharma thanked party national president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for the opportunity to contest from the Gandhi family's "traditional seat" Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress earlier today announced party loyalist KL Sharma's candidature from Amethi while also naming Rahul Gandhi from Raebareli.
On him "replacing" Rahul Gandhi in Amethi and BJP's allegations that Gandhi "ran away" from the seat, KL Sharma said that Rahul is fighting for the whole country.
"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 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.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi accompanied by party general secretary KC Venugopal reached Fursatganj airfield in Amethi earlier today where they were received by Priyanka Gandhi and husband and businessman Robert Vadra and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot.
According to party sources, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Telangana CM and State PCC chief Revanth Reddy will attend the nomination filing of Rahul Gandhi and KL Sharma.
Both constituencies are traditional strongholds of the Gandhi-Nehru family, with its members holding these seats for decades.
Rahul's defeat in Amethi, once considered a Congress 'pocket borough' at the hands of Irani in the 2019 polls was seen as a significant blow to the party's national prestige.
The Congress is contesting 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh as part of the seat-sharing deal with its ally partner, Samajwadi Party (SP).
