Anil Sharma who was Himachal Pradesh Power Minister tendered his resignation from the cabinet over remarks by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
Sharma is the son of former union minister Sukhram Sukh Ram who recently along with Anil’s son, Ashray Sharma rejoined the Congress party on March 25. Ashray will contest from Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.
The family joined the BJP just before the 2017 assembly polls. Sukh Ram and Ashray met Congress President Rahul Gandhi along with the party’s in-charge of Himachal Pradesh Rajni Patil and state unit chief Kuldeep Rathore before their induction last month.
Anil Sharma was inducted into the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress Cabinet in 2013 and allocated the portfolios of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and Animal Husbandry. He was also a Minister of State from 1993-97. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s foster sister Arpita is married to Anil Sharma’s son Aayush. Elections to the four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh will be held on May 19.
