Congress picks Kangra district chief Anurag Sharma for Himachal RS seat

The Congress on Thursday named Kangra District Congress Committee president Anurag Sharma as its candidate for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh, a move that surprised party leaders and observers in the state.

Union minister Anand Sharma, former state Congress president Pratibha Singh and several other senior leaders had been widely seen as strong contenders for the nomination ahead of the biennial Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for 16 March.

Sharma’s candidature, however, came as an unexpected choice for many aspirants within both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Considered close to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Sharma’s selection is also being viewed as an attempt to address political balancing in Kangra district. The Congress had won 10 of the district’s 15 Assembly seats in the last state elections but secured only two cabinet positions in the state government.

Sukhu had earlier said the party would announce its candidate after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), but the party’s central leadership released the list of Rajya Sabha nominees before the CLP meeting took place.

Anurag Sharma, who was appointed Kangra District Congress Committee president only two months ago in January, earlier worked closely with former Congress minister Sudhir Sharma, who is now a BJP MLA.

His nomination has surprised many political observers in the state, with some recalling a similar reaction when Chandan Sharma was nominated for a Rajya Sabha seat in 1986.

A resident of Bir in the Baijnath area of Kangra district, Sharma is also president of the Billing Paragliding Association.

Born on 29 August 1978, Sharma has been associated with the Congress since 1995. He earlier served as president of the NSUI (National Students’ Union of India) unit at Government College, Baijnath, and was state general secretary of the party’s youth wing between 1998 and 2001.