Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge sacks Himachal leader Sudhir Sharma from AICC Secretary post

The Congress party has removed Sudhir Sharma, one of the six-party MLAs in Himachal Pradesh who cross-voted in favor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate during the Rajya Sabha polls. Sharma, along with five other MLAs, faced disqualification for defying a party whip

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge removes Sudhir Sharma from his position as AICC Secretary with immediate effect. The move comes after the former Dharamshala MLA attacked Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the Congress high command. Sharma wrote a long post on social media, which he started with a verse from the Bhagavad Gita. The quote, when translated read, "Tolerating injustice is as much a crime as doing injustice. It is your duty to fight injustice.”

Sharma was one of the six-party MLAs in Himachal Pradesh, who sided with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate during the Rajya Sabha polls held on February 27. Sudhir Sharma has been removed from his position as the party's secretary, as announced by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal in a press release. Sharma, a prominent leader from Dharamshala and a former Himachal Pradesh minister, faced disqualification as an MLA for disobeying a party directive.

This move is seen as significant in Himachal Pradesh politics, as it is the first time MLAs have been disqualified under the anti-defection law. Sudhir Sharma, first elected to the Himachal Pradesh State Assembly in 2003 from Baijnath Constituency, had secured victory again in 2007.

Six Congress MLAs, including Sharma, who were disqualified for cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha polls, have filed a plea in the Supreme Court against their disqualification. The decision to disqualify them was made by the state Legislative Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on February 29. These rebel Congress members, who supported BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan during the Rajya Sabha polls, further defied party orders by abstaining from voting on the Budget, leading to their disqualification.

The disqualified MLAs include Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur, and Chetanya Sharma. With their disqualification, the effective strength of the House has diminished from 68 to 62, while the number of Congress MLAs has decreased from 40 to 34.