Himachal Pradesh Power Minister Anil Sharma tendered his resignation from the Cabinet on Friday, days after his son Ashray Sharma was announced as the Congress candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.
The Minister was under attack from the ruling BJP and facing an uneasy equation with Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur after he conveyed to the party that he would neither campaign against his son nor canvass for the BJP candidate, Ram Swarup Shrama, in the Mandi constituency. He, however, said he was willing to campaign for BJP candidates elsewhere in the State.
Last week, Mr. Anil Sharma’s father, former Union Minister Sukh Ram, quit the BJP and along with his grandson joined the Congress. The Congress then fielded Mr. Ashray Sharma as its candidate from Mandi.
Still with BJP
The Minister, who is a BJP MLA from the Mandi segment, told reporters in Shimla that he had resigned from the Cabinet but not from the party. “Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur made some sarcastic remarks about me at the rally in Mandi on Thursday… following that I made up my mind to resign as I felt he has lost faith in me,” he said.
However, there was no official confirmation regarding acceptance of his resignation.
