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After Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma quits from top Congress post
Anand Sharma alleged that he has been "ignored" in party consultations ahead of the assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh.
Congress leader Anand Sharma on Sunday resigned as chairman of the steering committee for the Himachal Pradesh assembly election, days after a similar move by Ghulam Nabi Azad who resigned from a key party post in Jammu and Kashmir, signalling a revolt within.
Sharma alleged that he has been "ignored" in party consultations ahead of assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh.
Sharma, a former Union minister and deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha, was appointed as chairman of the steering committee in Himachal Pradesh on April 26.
Sharma is considered among the tallest leaders of Himachal Pradesh. He has reportedly told the Congress president in his letter that his self-respect has been hurt as he has not been consulted or invited to any of the meetings of the party.
The Congress is seeking to wrest power from the BJP in Himachal Pradesh in assembly polls slated later this year.
Sharma, who first contested assembly elections in 1982 and was given a Rajya Sabha ticket by then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, has been a Rajya Sabha member ever since and has occupied several key positions in the party.
Similar move by Ghulam Nabi Azad
Sharma's resignation comes soon after another leader of the G23 grouping Azad resigned as chairman of the campaign committee in Jammu and Kashmir recently. Both Azad and Sharma are prominent leaders of the G23 grouping which has been critical of the decisions of the party leadership.
The grouping comprising prominent veterans, including Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Manish Tewari, has been insisting on genuine elections right from the block up to the Congress Working Committee level.
(With inputs from PTI)
