Anand Sharma Quits Key Himachal Congress Post, Says 'Self-Respect Is Non-Negotiable'

The Congress on Sunday suffered another setback after its senior leader and former Union Minister Anand Sharma resigned from the chairmanship of the party's steering committee for Himachal Pradesh months before the assembly elections in the Himalayan state.

In his resignation letter to party interim chief Sonia Gandhi, Sharma said his self-respect is "non-negotiable", adding that he was ignored in the consultation process. However, he said he will continue to campaign for the party candidates in the state.

"I have resigned with a heavy heart from the Chairmanship of the Steering Committee of the Congress for the Himachal Elections. Reiterating that I am a lifelong congressman and remain firm on my convictions," he said in a tweet later.

"Committed to Congress ideology that runs in my blood, let there be no doubts about this! However, given the continuing exclusion and insults, as a self-respecting person- I was left with no choice," he added.

Sharma, a Rajya Sabha MP, is a member of the G-23 dissenters in the grand old party. Notably, his resignation comes day after another dissenter, Ghulam Nabi Azad, resigned as chairman of the campaign committee in Jammu and Kashmir.

Azad, a former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and an ex-Rajya Sabha chairman, was appointed to post by Gandhi last week, but he resigned citing health issues. Along with Azad, his close aide Ghulam Ahmed Mir also resigned as the Congress' president in the union territory (UT). 

Meanwhile, Sharma is considered among the tallest leaders of Congress in Himachal Pradesh. He had first contested assembly elections in 1982 and was given a Rajya Sabha ticket by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. Since then, Sharma has been a Rajya Sabha member ever since and has occupied several key positions in the party.

The Congress is seeking to wrest power from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Himachal Pradesh in assembly elections slated later this year. Since 1985, the Congress and the saffron party have ruled the Himalayan state alternatively.

To woo the voters, the grand old party has also promised to provide free electricity of 300 units and a financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month to all women in the age group of 18 to 60 years. It has also promised to restore the old pension scheme (OPS) in Himachal Pradesh if it returns to power.

In the 2017 Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, the BJP had won 44 seats in the 68-member legislative assembly. The Congress, on the other hand, had won only 21 seats.