Mandi/Chandigarh: The BJP on Wednesday sent a veiled message to former minister and MLA Anil Sharma by not designating a chair during an event in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi which saw Chief Minister Jairam Thakur thanking the electorate for supporting the party.
Anil Sharma, whose son Aashray Sharma had unsuccessfully contested on a Congress ticket, had been removed from the cabinet under Jairam right before the elections. Anil had, however, stayed on as a BJP MLA.
His father, former union telecom minister, Sukh Ram, and Aashray Sharma had shifted their allegiances to the Congress in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls after the BJP denied the latter a ticket from the Mandi constituency. The saffron party had decided to go with its incumbent MP Ram Swaroop Sharma, who won with a margin of over 4 lakh votes.
Thanking the voters of Mandi for ensuring a clean sweep for the BJP in the state, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Wednesday held a road show from Sundernagar to Mandi, and addressed a huge “Abhaar rally” at the historic Seri Manch.
Interestingly, Anil Sharma greeted the chief minister at Sundernagar and went along with him till Seri Manch. The Mandi MLA, however, returned disgraced after he was designated a seat.
“Being a local MLA and a member of the BJP, it was my duty to be present and welcome the chief minister. After welcoming him I proceeded to take part in the Abhaar rally. When I went on to the stage, I found that the chairs had name slips of ministers and MLAs. I tried to find a chair with my name slip on it, but it was nowhere to be found. Hence, I thought it apt to leave the place without creating a scene," Anil Sharma narrated the series of events.
An embarrassed Anil Sharma further said, “Since it was a party function and I had to attend until and unless the BJP actually throws me out. Only the honourable chief minister can tell me what my position is in the party or the legislature party”.
“We appreciate that being an MLA he found it appropriate to attend the program. We have no problems whatsoever and he is free to attend our programs. Though technically he a BJP MLA and could have been an intrinsic part of this event today. But everybody has his own considerations” CM Jairam Thakur said, refraining to speak much on the episode.
“We didn’t have any chat. We just greeted each other” the CM added.
On Anil Sharma’s future in the party, Jairam Thakur said the issue will be taken care of in the days to come.