‘I thought congratulatory call from AICC was for Holi’: Anurag Sharma named Rajya Sabha candidate

Anurag Sharma, president of Kangra District Congress Committee (DCC), was unaware that the Congress high command had finalised his name for the Rajya Sabha ticket. The call from the AICC office while he was playing Holi came as a pleasant surprise.

“When I got a congratulatory call from the AICC office yesterday while I was playing Holi, I thought it was routine festival greetings and reciprocated. Then they told me that they were congratulating me not for Holi, but because I was the Congress candidate for the Rajya Sabha election,” Thakur said about his sudden selection.

An emotional Thakur said he couldn’t believe the party high command had finalised his name. “I’m a Shiva bhakt, so I immediately went to the Shiva temple in Baijnath to express gratitude. I couldn’t believe an ordinary worker like me had been given this opportunity,” he said.

When Thakur told his wife she was sceptical, saying “don’t joke with me”.

Thakur, born on August 29, 1978, was appointed DCC president about a month ago. He’s a graduate with a strong organisational background, involved with Congress since college days, and currently heads Billing Paragliding Association.

Thakur said his candidature would boost party workers’ morale. “In my first speech as DCC president, I said the party organisation is supreme and workers are most important. If workers are there, only then will there be a government, MLAs, and ministers,” he said.

With no other candidates in the fray, Thakur will be declared elected on March 9, with no voting on March 16.