Congress Names Surprise Candidate For Rajya Sabha Polls, Fields Party's District Chief

Seen as close to Chief Minister Sukhu, his selection balances representation for Kangra district, a Congress stronghold. Sharma's past includes ties to a BJP MLA and leadership roles within the Congress youth wing.

The Congress nominated Anurag Sharma, Kangra District Congress Committee president, for Himachal Pradesh's Rajya Sabha seat, surprising many.

Source : ANI

Shimla, Mar 5 (PTI) The Congress picked an unlikely candidate for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh: president of Kangra District Congress Committee, Anurag Sharma.

Former Union minister Anand Sharma and former state Congress president Pratibha Singh and other party stalwarts were considered strong contenders for getting a Rajya Sabha nomination from the state.

Sharma's candidature, however, has come as a surprise for those vying to be nominated -- both within the Congress and BJP alike. The biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha will be held on March 16.

He is considered very close to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his selection by the Congress high command could be seen as a balancing act for Kangra district, where the party won 10 out of 15 seats in the last assembly polls, yet only got two cabinet berths.

Sukhu on Wednesday said the party will reveal its pick after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party but the central leadership of the party released the list of candidates ahead of CLP meeting.

Anurag Sharma, once the right hand man of former Congress minister and now BJP MLA, Sudhir Sharma, was appointed DCC president only two months back in in January.

His selection has surprised many in the state who recall that Chandan Sharma's nomination for a Rajya Sabha seat in 1986 had received a similar reaction.

Anurag Sharma hails from Bir in Baijnath area of Kangra and is the president of the Billing Paragliding Association.

Born on August 29, 1978, Sharma has been an active member of the Congress since 1995 and he was the NSUI president of Daijnath government college and held the position of the party youth wing's state general secretary from 1998 to 2001. 

(Disclaimer: This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)