Expelled Congress leader Venod Sharma resigns as MLA

Sharma was likely to float his party, sources said. The Haryana assembly polls are due in October this year.

On March 9, Sharma had held a public function in Kurukshetra, where he heaped praise on BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and termed him as a man of vision who wants to take the country forward and had also offered full support to any party, organisation or individual who will “help in making the Gujarat strongman the next PM”.  

Venod Sharma was eyeing the Karnal Lok Sabha seat on behalf of BJP and then later as an alliance of saffron party HJC-BL nominee, but was not nominated following opposition from Sushma Swaraj and some other saffron party leaders.  

Sharma was expelled by the Congress on April 19, along with 18 other leaders including Gurgaon MP, Rao Inderjit Singh, who had quit the party and contested as BJP candidate from Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat.

A former Union minister, Sharma had to resign during 1999 parliamentary polls after his son Manu Sharma's involvement in the Jessica Lal murder case. Following his son's conviction and sentence, Venod Sharma was sidelined by Congress high command.