Big jolt to Cong as Anand Sharma quits top party post

New Delhi: In a big jolt to the Congress ahead of Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, party's senior leader Anand Sharma on Sunday resigned from the chairmanship of the party's steering committee for the state.

Anand Sharma, in a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, said that his self-respect is 'non-negotiable' and he has resigned from the post, sources told.

He later tweeted that he resigned with a "heavy heart" and that he would remain a "lifelong Congressman".

"Committed to Congress ideology that runs in my blood, let there be no doubts about this! However, given the continuing exclusion and insults, as a self-respecting person- I was left with no choice," he further tweeted. Sharma's resignation comes soon after another leader of the G23 grouping — a faction of senior party leaders who have been pressing for collective leadership in the party — Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned as chairman of the campaign committee in Jammu and Kashmir a few days ago.

Sharma has told the Congress chief that he has been ignored in the consultation process. However, he told Gandhi that he will continue to campaign for the party candidates in the state.

The former Union minister and deputy leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha was appointed as chairman of the Steering Committee in Himachal Pradesh on April 26.