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Soni Mishra
Soni Mishra

UPCOMING POLLS

Ahead of polls, Himachal Congress puts up a united face

virbhadra (File) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh | PTI

Ahead of the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his bete noire, state Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, presented a picture of unity, appearing together before cameras to declare that they will launch a united fight against the BJP.

Virbhadra, after a press conference in New Delhi, said in response to a question that he would want Sukhu to contest in the election, when the PCC chief entered to take a position next to the CM in the briefing.

“I do not want to go into past events. It did not happen when it should have happened. Now, the government and the organisation are together in this election,” the chief minister said, replying to a query about his letter, which he had sent to the party high command last month demanding that Sukhu be replaced as PCC chief or else he would dissociate himself from the party.

Sukhu, on his part, declared, “We are united. And we will definitely win.”

Virbhadra and Sukhu were in Delhi to attend a meeting to decide candidates for the upcoming polls. The two leaders went to meet Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi together, although it is learnt that Rahul met them individually.

While the chief minister has, in the past, complained to the party high command, accusing Sukhu of being antagonistic to his interests, the PCC chief is learnt to have the backing of Rahul.

In an apparent effort to assuage Virbhadra's concerns, Rahul, in his election rally in Mandi recently, declared him the Congress chief ministerial candidate. It is also learnt that the party has agreed to Virbhadra's demand that his son Vikramaditya be fielded from Shimla Rural, which is presently held by the chief minister. Virbhadra's detractors were opposed to Vikramaditya's candidature and they complained that he was promoting the family at the cost of aspirations of his partymen.

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