NEW DELHI, July 29 — Marking a political homecoming after nearly a decade, former Chandigarh councillor and longtime associate of MP Manish Tewari, Chander Mukhi Sharma, rejoined the Congress on Monday in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Sharma, who once held key positions as NSUI and Youth Congress president and served two consecutive terms as councillor, had been expelled from the Congress in 2016 for six years. He joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2019 but formally resigned from it before his return to the Congress fold today.
“This is home for me,” Sharma said after rejoining. “I had worked for the Congress earlier and I’ll continue working as a committed worker. I will always be thankful to Mallikarjun Kharge ji for giving me another chance.”
His re-induction is seen as a consolidation of Congress’s position in Chandigarh, where Sharma played a key role in the party’s grassroots organisation. Chandigarh Congress president H.S. Lucky acknowledged Sharma’s contribution to the party’s recent electoral success, saying, “He was instrumental in helping Manish Tewari win the 2024 Parliamentary elections. His return strengthens our unit.”
Though the shift could have implications for local alliances, AAP’s Chandigarh president Vijaypal downplayed Sharma’s exit. “He had not been active in the party for several months. Everyone knew of his proximity to Manish Tewari. We suspected he would eventually return to Congress,” he said.
Sharma’s political trajectory — from Congress to AAP and back — reflects the churn in Chandigarh’s political landscape as parties gear up for the next round of elections. His return signals a renewed alignment with Congress’s national leadership, though how this reshapes party dynamics at the city level remains to be seen.
