Former tourism minister Chandresh Sharma has the support of the majority of his Fyzabad constituents, who reportedly want him to continue to serve as their parliamentary representative. This was the word yesterday from constituency chairman Sankar Singh, who said the constituents who gave Sharma a poor performance rating and called for him to resign as MP were in the minority. Sharma resigned on Monday after his former girlfriend, Sacha Singh, reported to the police he had allegedly assaulted her.
When asked, via text message, to respond to comments by his disgruntled constituents, Sharma referred questions to Singh. In a telephone interview, Singh said on Tuesday night a meeting was held at the constituency office with about 145 major stakeholders, including activists and community-based and non-governmental organisations, who all expressed support for Sharma. “He has been doing quite a good job and he continues to deliver goods and services to the people,” Singh said.
Asked how he would respond to disgruntled constituents, he said in every constituency there would be one or two people who might not be happy because they did not get something as fast as they wanted it. “The majority of people we interact with—and I have my finger on the pulse in the constituency—support Mr Sharma,” he claimed. He assured he had got positive feedback from the community on Sharma’s performance.
Asked whether Sharma was considering resigning as MP, Singh said he could not speak for Sharma, but added: “As a constituent I could say the question of him resigning does not arise. He continues to represent the interests of his constituents in a very meaningful way. We want Mr Sharma to remain and represent us.” He asked why, if Sharma were not performing, had he been elected on seven occasions in the last 21 years, making him the longest-serving MP on the Government side.
Sharma, he said, had also performed exceptionally well in every ministry in which he served. Told that some constituents said Sharma only got their support because he represented the United National Congress (UNC), he said Sharma also had the support of non-UNC supporters. Singh said he helped out on constituency day every Tuesday and people seeking Sharma’s help came from other political parties.
“No one is turned away,” he said, adding that for Shouter Baptist Liberation Day celebrations were held throughout the constituency. “Such has been the nature of Mr Sharma’s office. He has never been one to limit his service to UNC people alone,” he added.