INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
career as a minister in Himachal's BJP government in quandary, the saffron party Monday left it to Sharma to decide whether to continue in
the state Cabinet."It is for Anil Sharma to decide whether to remain as Himachal Pradesh minister or quit
He should make his stand clear," BJP's state unit president Satpal Singh Satti told PTI.He was asked if Sukhram's son Anil Sharma, the state
power minister, would continue in the Jai Ram Thakur government.Mr Satti, however, added, "One member of a family may remain in one party,
while another may join other party."Sukhram's decision to join the Congress along with his grand-son Ashray Sharma has turned Anil Sharma's
continuance as a state minister unpredictable.He may soon face the dilemma whether to leave the Cabinet and campaign for his son Ashray
Sharma, who is likely to get a Congress ticket for Mandi Lok Sabha seat or or stay put with the BJP and cheer for the party's Mandi
candidate Ramswaroop Sharma.Despite repeated efforts, Anil Sharma could not be reached for his comments on his possible next course of
action.Mr Sharma had joined BJP after quitting the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government shortly before the last assembly elections.He was
part of the Congress government from 1993 to 1996 and from 2013 to 2017 in the state.Asked about Sukhram and Aashray Sharma quitting the BJP
and joining the Congress, the BJP's state unit chief said, "Only Anil Sharma had joined the BJP
As far as my knowledge is concerned, Sukhram and Aashray never joined it
So the question of their quitting the BJP does not arise."Asked about the prospects Aashray getting a Congress ticket for the Mandi Lok
Sabha seat, Mr Satti said instead of giving ticket to those leaders who formally sought it, the Congress first asked its senior leaders to
contest from here.When its senior leaders refused to do so, it is trying to find candidates from here and there, said Mr Satti.The BJP state
president, however, exuded confidence that his party will repeat its 2014 performance on all the four Lok Sabha seats in the state.Get the
latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on TheIndianSubcontinent.com/elections
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