Congress leader Anand Sharma refuses to contest from Hamirpur

New Delhi: Another Congress leader Anand Sharma has refused to contest Lok Sabha elections. Sharma, who is the second senior Congress leader after P Chidambaram to pull out of the race, was tipped to contest from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.

He had earlier volunteered to contest against BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi. Sharma, the Commerce and Industries Minister in UPA government and a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan, belongs to Himachal Pradesh and is a Brahmin leader.

Information Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni refused to comment on the issue . She said several leaders like Manish Tewari, Kamal Nath, Ghulam Nabi Azad were in the fray and they will win, said Soni.