Right before the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, there is a storm brewing for the Congress in the hill state, with its Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh issuing a threat that he will neither contest the polls nor will he work for the party in the elections.
Virbhadra has shot off letters to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi, marking a copy to the AICC general secretary in-charge Sushil Kumar Shinde, in which he has complained that the party high command has not taken any action on his repeated complaints to the leaders about the issues in the Himachal unit. He said that in this kind of a situation, he will neither contest the elections, nor will he have any role in it.
According to party sources, Virbhadra is upset over the perceived importance that the party high command is giving to his detractor, Himachal Congress President Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.
The chief minister has had a long running rivalry with Sukhu. He has repeatedly asked the party high command to replace Sukhu, claiming that the state unit chief has been working against him. He has refused to attend meetings with the party leadership along with the Himachal Congress chief.
Rahul is said to favour Sukhu, and the latter has been holding meetings with senior leaders in Delhi, including Sonia's political secretary Ahmed Patel and Shinde. This has upset Virbhadra as he feels the party high command is giving importance to Sukhu even as it has discounted the concerns voiced by him. The chief minister feels that the assurance given to him by the party leadership earlier that he will be the face of the party in elections even as Sukhu handles organisational affairs has been breached.
Handling the crisis is crucial for the Congress, as Himachal goes to polls shortly. As the party battles anti-incumbency, its prospects in the elections could be hurt by the allegations of corruption against Virbhadra.
A senior party leader said that Virbhadra, who is feeling the pressure, could be making an effort to force the hand of the party high command with his threat to not contest elections. Virbhadra enjoys almost the same stature in Himachal that Capt Amarinder Singh has in Punjab, and the party cannot move forward without him.
