HP CM asks Cabinet colleague who will he campaign for - son or BJP

Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur Sunday asked his Cabinet colleague Anil Sharma to clarify whether he would quit the government to campaign for his son and Congress candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha seat or support the BJP candidate there.

Thakur took the tough stand and sought explanations from Sharma, the state power minister, days after his father and former Union Telecom Minister Sukh Ram joined the Congress along with his grandson Aashray Sharma, who has been given a Congress ticket from Mandi.

The chief minister sought Sharma's explanation while taking to reporters at Paonta on his way to electioneering in Uttarakhand.

Thakur said his Cabinet colleague Sharma must clear the "political cloud" hovering over him on who would he campaign for -- his son or BJP candidate Ram Swaroop Sharma -- in Mandi.

Sharma must decide at the earliest weather he would join the Congress to help his son in the ensuing election or campaign for the BJP candidate in Mandi, said the chief minister.

He made it clear that if Anil Sharma campaigns for his son, he will have to lose his Cabinet post and membership of the Himachal Pradesh assembly.

Nobody should have any doubt on this point, he added.

The chief minister also refuted speculations over difference of opinion in the BJP on the issue of Sharma.

He said there was no second opinion on this issue in the party and what he was saying was the unanimous view of the party.

Thakur also expressed confidence that the BJP will retain all the four parliamentary seats in Himachal Pradesh, increasing the BJP's victory margin over them, including the Mandi seat, which is seen as his home turf.