Serving Congress for five decades, says Kangra candidate before launching poll campaign

Shimla, May 3 (IANS) Saying he has been serving the party for almost five decades as a true soldier, Congress leader and Lok Sabha candidate from Himachal Pradesh's Kangra Parliamentary constituency, Anand Sharma, on Friday left for his "battleground" after offering prayers at the renowned Maa Kalibari temple in Shimla.

After praying in the temple, Sharma criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not fulfilling promises.

"Like in the past 10 years, the BJP is once again trying to confuse the people. Today, PM Modi neither talks about the development of the country nor the promises made to the people," Sharma said.

Expressing gratitude to the party high command for finalising his candidature, Anand Sharma, a four-time Rajya Sabha MP, said: "I have been serving the party for almost five decades as a true soldier due to which I have been made a candidate from Kangra-Chamba seat. I will give the gift of victory to the high command."

Sharma, known to be a 'mentor' to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, has been pitted against Rajiv Bhardwaj of the BJP, which did not re-nominate the sitting MP, Kishan Kapoor.

For Sharma, who belongs to Shimla and will be filing his nomination on May 9, this would be his first electoral battle for the Lok Sabha.

With a political career spanning over five decades, Sharma, who first entered the Rajya Sabha in 1984, is a surprise pick by the party.

The constituency with 17 Assembly seats in Kangra and some parts of Chamba district with a base of 12.58 lakh voters, the highest in the state, has numerous ex-servicemen and a big chunk of Brahmin voters, a community to which both the candidates belong.

Himachal Pradesh will go to the polls on all four Lok Sabha seats on June 1.

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