Why shadow cast by son wont eclipse Venod Sharma

He has everything that it takes to be a successful politician. Rich,sharp and used to getting his way,Venod Sharma would have been a key player in the Congress....

He has everything that it takes to be a successful politician. Rich,sharp and used to getting his way,Venod Sharma would have been a key player in the Congress,but for his son Manu Sharmas involvement in the Jessica Lall murder case.

Sharma made his political debut during the heady days of the Youth Congress upsurge under Sanjay Gandhis leadership at the time of Emergency. Son of a liquor baron of Punjab ,Kedar Nath Sharma,he had the advantage of close family ties with influential politicians. At 28,he became the president of the Chandigarh Territorial Youth Congress. Two years later,he was elevated as the national general secretary. As a member of Sanjay Gandhis charmed circle,he was instrumental in the appointment of Birender Singh as the Haryana Youth Congress chief in 1980. When Birender stepped down in 1982,Sharma lobbied for Bhupinder Singh Hooda as his successor.

While other leading lights of the Youth Congress stayed put on the national scene,Sharma chose to contest an Assembly election from Banur constituency in Punjab,and won. While he remained confined to state politics,his erstwhile colleagues went places at Centre. Realising that he had had been overtaken by his contemporaries,Sharma turned to the then Punjab Chief Minister,Beant Singh,for help in 1992. Beant Singh then sent Sharma to the Rajya Sabha. His fortunes looked up and he became Union minister of state for Food and Supplies in 1995. However,this did not last as the Congress lost in the 1996 LS polls.

As the Chandigarh Territorial Congress chief,Sharma was a serious contender for a Lok Sabha ticket in 1999. However,the Jessica Lall murder case stalled his onward march. He lost the party job as well.

But he did not remain sidelined. The moment the controversy eased a little,Sharma was back,this time as the Congress candidate for the Ambala Assembly seat in 2005. Old friend Hooda inducted him as the minister for excise and taxation. However,a sting operation exposing an attempt to buy witnesses to save his son in the Jessica Lall case led to his ouster,cut his ministerial stint short and he had to resign in 2007.

Two years later,he was rehabilitated by the Congress,now as the state campaign committee chief ahead of Lok Sabha elections. In the Assembly polls,he was granted a ticket and won from Ambala.

While controversies took their toll,Sharmas influence and financial clout held him in good stead. In the rough and tumble of Haryana politics,he is foremost among the people Hooda can trust. His vast business empire sugar mills,hotels and real estate is a great help when MLAs have to be engaged and hosted.

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Amidst the fast-moving politics of Haryana in the aftermath of recent polls,it was Sharma who was the busiest while Hooda mobilised the support of seven Independents and a lone BSP MLA. The majority-support demonstrated,he was ready with a helping hand as Hooda enlisted the support of five Haryana Janhit Congress MLAs. And while he may be backroom boy at the moment,it is likely that Sharma is not done chasing the limelight.