Irrespective of my resignation as head of Congress Steering Committee, I will campaign for party: Anand Sharma

Pratibha Chauhan

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Shimla, August 24

While stressing on the need for reflection and course correction nationally, Congress leader Anand Sharma today clarified that he would campaign for the party in the upcoming Himachal Pradesh assembly polls.

Sharma, who made headlines after he chose to resign from the chairmanship of the Steering Committee for the assembly polls in the hill state, arrived here today on a two-day visit. “Irrespective of my resignation as head of the Steering Committee, which I have discussed with Sonia Gandhi, I shall campaign for the party,” he emphasised.

Setting aside speculation about his joining BJP, he said after having spent 51 years of his life as a Congressman, his endeavour will be to bring together all factions within the party to be able to work with the objective of winning.

“No doubt Congress has distinct edge but then factionalism is a matter of concern,” he admitted. It can certainly hurt our prospects, he added.

Sharma, who has reportedly been unhappy with the manner in which the party affairs are being handled by party incharge Rajeev Shukla without taking him into confidence, minced no words while stressing that tickets must be given on merit to people who enjoy a good image, both within the party and in public.

“Nobody should be committed to individuals but to the party and its ideology,” he remarked while reiterating that the party will have to put up a united fight and give tickets on winnability criteria.

Replying to a query on multiplicity of committees with overlapping roles, he said there is need to delineate the multiplicity of mandate to accommodate people.

Commenting on the national scenario, he said the country requires the revival of Congress to balance the political narrative. Weakening of the Congress is certainly not in the interest of the country, he added.

Even as he highlighted the importance of collective thinking and decision making which has been an integral part of Congress, he lamented that over the years it has reduced even though by default. “However, Congress still remains a party where we still have consultation,” he hastened to add.

He said there is need to have strong block and district level committees in the party.

Sharma lashed out at the BJP’s double engine government, which have defaulted to address issues like inflation and unemployment.