Shimla: The Congress high command on Thursday cleared the name of Kangra district Congress president Anurag Sharma as the party’s candidate for the Rajya Sabha biennial elections from Himachal Pradesh, signalling a clear preference for a new face and fresh political energy in the hill state.
The announcement came as part of a national list released by the Congress for the Rajya Sabha elections. The party named Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vem Narender Reddy from Telangana, Phulo Devi Netam from Chhattisgarh, Karamvir Singh Boudh from Haryana, Anurag Sharma from Himachal Pradesh and M. Christopher Tilak from Tamil Nadu among its candidates.
In Himachal Pradesh, the choice of Anurag Sharma — currently the president of the Kangra District Congress Committee — has sparked intense political discussion as the party appears to be consciously moving towards a generational shift.
Sharma, who was once politically familiar with the late six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, has largely remained a low-profile organisational leader. His elevation to the Rajya Sabha is being seen as a strategic move by the Congress leadership to promote a new leadership layer within the state unit.
Sources within the party say the high command preferred a “new face with new energy”, rather than relying on established heavyweights. The decision also effectively sidelines leaders from the old Virbhadra Singh camp.
The political signals became clearer earlier in the day when Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, state Congress president Vinay Kumar, Education Minister Rohit Thakur and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh called on Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania at the Vidhan Sabha complex before attending the Congress Legislature Party meeting and the nomination process. Anurag Sharma was also present during the interaction.
Notably absent from the meeting was Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh, son of Virbhadra Singh, who did not attend the gathering, as the Holy Lodge, the political nerve centre long associated with the Virbhadra family has been ignored in this generational shift in Congress politics.
The development comes after Pratibha Singh, Virbhadra Singh’s widow, was first replaced as the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president and is now also out of the Rajya Sabha race, despite lobbying by her supporters.
Political observers believe the developments indicate that the Congress leadership is gradually moving beyond the decades-long dominance of the Virbhadra era in Himachal politics.
Interestingly, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who rose politically during Virbhadra Singh’s tenure, attended the meeting and appeared aligned with the current leadership under Chief Minister Sukhu — a sign of shifting equations within the party.
The selection of Anurag Sharma also carries regional significance. Both the outgoing BJP Rajya Sabha MP Indu Goswami and the newly chosen Congress candidate hail from Kangra, the politically decisive district of Himachal Pradesh.
With the Congress holding a comfortable majority in the state Assembly, Sharma’s election to the Rajya Sabha is considered almost certain.
Party leaders say the move reflects the high command’s attempt to balance organisational loyalty, regional representation and generational change as the Congress prepares for future political battles in the hill state.
