New Delhi: In a letter to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, Congress leader Anand Sharma has resigned as chairman of the steering committee for the Himachal Assembly elections. Sharma, however, has assured that he will participate in campaigning for Congress candidates. Anand Sharma's resignation has once again exposed the internal controversy of the party. Sharma is also a member of the G23 group of which another member Ghulam Nabi Azad had also resigned from the post of chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress Campaign Committee.

In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, 69-year-old Anand Sharma cited instances where he was not even informed about key poll strategy meetings in Himachal Pradesh and said, "My self-respect is non-negotiable." The former Union minister and former Deputy Leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha is on a four-day visit to Himachal Pradesh from Tuesday to mobilise his supporters.

On April 26, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi announced eight other committees, including Himachal Pradesh Congress president, CLP leader and chairman of the campaign committee, which also had a steering committee and Anand Sharma was made its chairman, Asha Kumari was appointed as convenor. In a letter to the Congress president, he pointed out that the multiplicity and overlapping of works in the committee need clarity for functional purposes. Anand Sharma wrote, "I had appealed to the General Secretary Organization and AICC in-charge to clarify the mandate and role of the Steering Committee.'' He said meetings of the core group of Himachal Congress and senior leaders on poll strategy and preparations have been held in both Delhi and Shimla, but he was not informed about it.

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