Anand Sharma: Meteoric Rise, Dramatic Fall, Its Congress Legacy

It was early seventies that while strolling on Shimla Mall road with a Youth Congress leader, we came across Anand Sharma. After exchanging pleasantries, Anand made a swipe at Youth Congress, to which Cong leader replied, " Anand jee Congress is an ocean and it takes all with open arms., you are welcome to join the party. Anand Sharma retorted ," Your party is just a dirty rivulet and I even don't consider it worth of peeing". My friend was so incensed that both came almost to blows. I could never forget his utterances as soon after this he joined Congress. Anand was then stauch RSS-run student wing ABVP activist and used to attend its skakhas. As the luck would have it, it was the same "dirty rivulet", which t gave him all what he aspired for despite having no roots.

However, it is said a small miscalculations in politics can ruin your career, That's what maverick Anand Sharma did. He tried to branch off the same sprig he was riding since he defected to Congress in seventies. He was among those letter writers who dared to challenge authority of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and called for rejuvenating party. Apparently, these leaders were pointing out finger at Gandhis' leadership.

The contemporary Congress hasn't remained an inch of the party what it was in fifties and sixties. Now its a Gandhis-run private limited company. From Nehru to Indira Gandhi, Rajeev-Sonia Gandhi to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi (she loves to add Gandhi to her surname despite being married to Robert Vadra), Congress is run by the Nehru-Gandhi lineage. The party tried to experiment with non-Gandhi leader but it failed miserably.And a "rootless" leader Anand Sharma could survive and rise from post to post because a party without genuine organisational elections prefer to encourage rootless leader. And mass leader always suffered in Congress. From Dev Raj Urs to Sharad Pawar and Virbhadra Singh, all were cut to the size. Ask Virbhadra Singh, six time Chief Minister of Himachal, he would tell you how badly he was made to sit in AICC office for hours to meet Sonia Gandhi. He once told me," I am treated like a peon there. Its so humiliating".

But one thing surely goes to Anand Sharma's credit. He is a vociferous orator and master puppeteer. His powerful oratory, would often bewilder the rivals and opponents. It is this skill which took him to become a prominent youth leader in international arena and won many awards. He has won "Companion of the Order of the Volta in 2008), Cote d'Ivoire Ordre national Commandeur ribbon.svg Commander of the National Order of the Ivory Coast in 2009) and Special Award for contribution in strengthening India-South Africa relations on the occasion of 150 Years of the First Arrival of Indians in South Africa. No other Congress leader could win these award.

He always rued his "rootless" background. He once told me," Chander Bhai, I wish I had a rural part background , I would have changed the course of politics". He was groomed, brought and have had his education right from school to university in Shimla as his father was a state govt servant. But he remained an alien to the rural people. It is due to this reason that he lost assembly election from Shimla (city) constituency to BJP stalwart Daulat Ram Chahaun.

However, Anand ran much ahead of local leaders having some roots and gradually rose to from position to position where he could challenge the commanding position of Raja (virbhdra Singh), his initial mentor. He was Raja's paratrooper when Thakur Ram Lal was at the helm of the affairs in State and was instrumental in installing Raja as Chief Minister replacing Thakur Ram Lal. He was also responsible for the downfall of Mrs. Usha Malhotra, another rootless woman leader who just survived on her charm. Her husband was Chief Engineer of PWD (Public Health was then part of it) and as such yielded tremendous power. Even legislators and other leaders flocked to Usha Malhotra to get their work done from her husband. Both husband and wife were quite popular in Shinla elite circle in seventies and eighties. It was Anand Sharma who challenged their authority after he fell out with them as his younger brother ran away with Malhotras' only daughter. Those were the days when couple like Ram Lal and Ram Pyari (Thakur Ram Lall and his wife) Usha Malhotra and her husband were Shimla Mall Road's popular figure and Shimlites would eagrly wait for their stroll . Major Vijay Singh Mankotia and his charming wife were then the emerging couple. Anand Sharma was then just a small figure but within a short span he used to stole the show after getting elected to Rajya Sabha.

After becoming NSUI president, Anand Sharma never looked back and Delhi his abode. He was not only fist NSUI president from the state but first All India Youth Congress president, first Congress official spokesman from Himachal .

I am not surprised at the exclusion of Anand Sharma from Political Affairs Committee (Election Strategy Committee) for Himachal Pradesh and from the state coordination committee. Both included all prominent leaders from the state, except Anand Sharma. Its a big blow to him.

Nowadays there is clear writing on the Congress wall," Loyalty Begets The Loyalty" and vice versa. Those who are not loyal to Gandhis shouldn't hope to get rewarded. And no one know it better than Anand Sharma himself.

(Chander Sharma)