On Sunday, August 21, 2022, ahead of the Himachal Pradesh elections, Anand Sharma (Senior Leader) resigned from the chairmanship of the party’s steering committee.
Anand Sharma wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi (Congress President), wherein he mentioned that self-respect is non-negotiable and thereby he resigned from the post.
“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 further tweeted.
Sharma assured Gandhi that he won’t stop campaigning for the party candidates in the state. He further told the Congress chief that he was continually shunned in the consultation process.
Sharma first contested elections in 1982. He then got his parliamentary ticket from Indira Gandhi in 1984. Since then he has been a prominent face and a member of the Rajya Sabha.
The former union minister and deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha were appointed as Chairman of the Steering Committee in Himachal Pradesh on April 26.
Another resignation from G23 member
He along with Ghulam Nabi Azad was the significant leader of the G23 faction. This faction was responsible for the decisions of the party’s leadership. The grouping, comprising prominent veterans including Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Manish Tewari, has been urging authentic elections right from the block up to the CWC level.
Congress has been putting its best step forward to contort power from the BJP in Himachal Pradesh in assembly polls scheduled to take place later this year, in 2022. But Congress continued to exclude prominent members from important meetings.
Following the Exclusion and disrespect, various members have resigned from the party positions.
Anand’s resignation was followed by the resignation of Ghulam Nabi Azad. Ghulam resigned a few days back as the chairman of the campaign committee in Jammu and Kashmir. He was too a member of the G23 group.
“The multiplicity of committees and overlapping of functions required clarity for functional purposes. I had requested GS (general secretary) organisation and AICC In-charge to clarify the mandate of steering committee to delineate the mandate and role of the steering committee,” a brief note shared by sources close to Sharma’s office.
