New Delhi, June 4 (IANS): Sharing a throwback picture with Congress' Amethi candidate Kishori Lal Sharma, who is emerging with a margin of nearly one lakh votes against BJP's Smriti Irani, Priyanka Gandhi took to her social media to congratulate the Gandhi family loyalist.

Along with the picture, Priyanka posted on her X: "Kishori bhaiya, I never doubted, I believed from the beginning that you will win. Many congratulations to you and my brothers and sisters from Amethi."

Priyanka did not contest the polls but she extensively led the Congress party's campaign in Amethi and Raebareli. In Raebareli, Rahul Gandhi is leading against BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh by nearly three lakh votes.

Kishori Lal Sharma’s surge to victory comes as a surprise as he was considered an underdog before Union Minister Smriti Irani who defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in 2019.

After Congress announced Sharma as its candidate in the family’s stronghold, BJP took a dig at the Gandhis, saying that they were scared to contest in Amethi after Irani's win last time. Congress asserted that Sharma has worked in Amethi and Raebareli for decades and knows the pulse of the people there.

Some BJP leaders even referred to him as a "proxy candidate." Dinesh Pratap Singh even went to the extent of calling Sharma Rahul Gandhi's "chaprasi" (peon).