In a dramatic turn of events, which has created a feud within the ruling State Bharatiya Janata Party, the Himachal Pradesh Power Minister Anil Sharma has submitted his resignation from the Cabinet to the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, stating the CM should talk of development and leave his family alone.
When asked about the reasons for the resignation by reporters in Shimla, Anil Sharma said, “Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur made some sarcastic remarks about me and my family at a rally in Mandi on Thursday, following which I made up my mind to resign as I felt he had lost faith in me.”
On being questioned about his plans with the party, Sharma informed, “he has resigned from the Cabinet but not from the party.”
Sharma has over the past maintained that he fought and won assembly elections on BJP ticket and that he would remain with the party and not join the Congress.
Things have not been easy in the past week or so for Anil ever since his father, former Telecom Minister Sukh Ram quit the BJP to join Congress and his son Ashray Sharma was announced as Congress candidate for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat.
Anil had developed an uneasy equation with the CM and select members of the BJP after refusing to canvass against his son in favour of BJP party candidate from Mandi.
He was, however, willing to campaign for the BJP candidates elsewhere in any part of the state.
There is no official word on if the CM has accepted the resignation and Anil Sharma’s name features on the State government’s website as MPP and Power Minister (at the time of writing).
According to the sources, the resignation is a step to de-escalate surmounting tension between him and the CM. How much does it really work in the BJP’s favour, only time will tell.
