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Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh has left the decision of contesting the Lok Sabha elections to the party high command. Congress party in-charge for the state Rajiv Shukla gave information about this on Wednesday. Rajeev Shukla was talking to journalists after the meeting in Shimla of the six-member committee formed by the Congress to ensure better coordination between the Himachal Pradesh government and the party organization in the state. Pratibha Singh, the sitting MP from Mandi, had recently said that she has decided not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as the situation on the ground is ‘not in our favour’ and party workers are disappointed. Voting for four parliamentary seats and 6 assembly by-elections in Himachal Pradesh is scheduled to take place on June 1.
After the meeting, when asked about her earlier statement of not contesting the Lok Sabha elections, Pratibha Singh said, ‘I have conveyed it to the high command. Now let’s see what decision he takes. Before the meeting, on a reporter’s question whether she would contest elections from Mandi, Pratibha Singh had said, ‘Absolutely not… I have told this to the high command. Now it depends on what decision the high command takes. Apart from Pratibha Singh, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and other Congress leaders were present in the meeting chaired by Rajeev Shukla.
High command will decide Congress candidate for Mandi seat
This meeting was organized to strengthen the strategy and discuss the names of possible candidates for the hill state for the general elections. Responding to a journalist’s question, Rajiv Shukla said, ‘We will win all 10 seats (in Himachal Pradesh) – 4 Lok Sabha seats and 6 assembly by-elections’. He said that the Congress government is getting stronger in the hill state and will complete its tenure. When asked whether Pratibha Singh would contest the Lok Sabha elections, Rajiv Shukla said, ‘Such decisions will be taken by the party high command. She has left it to the high command and has said that whatever decision is taken, she will follow it.
When the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday declared all the six Congress rebels as its candidates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly by-election, Chief Minister Sukhu said that the Congress is ready to win all the six seats. After the meeting that lasted for about two hours, Pratibha Singh told reporters here, ‘We will work together. We have to win the Lok Sabha elections. He said the probable candidates were discussed in the meeting, adding that the party’s state unit will finalize the names in five-six days and convey its decisions to the high command, after which another meeting will be held. The Himachal Pradesh Congress chief said that in the meeting he raised some issues which needed the attention of the state government and he was given assurances on them.
BJP has fielded Kangana Ranaut from Mandi.
When asked how big a challenge actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut is going to pose to the Congress from Mandi, she said, ‘We will fight and make the Congress victorious.’ BJP has fielded Ranaut from Mandi in the general elections. When asked about some Congress leaders joining BJP before the elections, Rajiv Shukla said that such incidents keep happening during elections. When asked about Congress MP from Ludhiana, Punjab, Ravneet Singh Bittu joining BJP, he took a dig at the saffron party and said that it does not have strong leaders. He said, ‘Congress is like a vast ocean where there is no dearth of leaders.’
Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said, ‘We are fully prepared for the Lok Sabha elections.’ The Chief Minister said that BJP has given tickets to six rebels and the people of Himachal Pradesh will decide their fate on June 1. Answering a journalist’s question before the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said, ‘There is no threat to our government.’ He claimed that despite the exit of six MLAs, Congress is in a comfortable position. When Agnihotri was told by journalists that more Congress MLAs were in touch with the BJP, he did not pay much attention to it and said, ‘Whatever happened, happened… Ghalib, this thought is good to entertain the heart.’
He alleged that efforts were made by the BJP to topple the Congress government in the hill state, but now, it finds itself in trouble. BJP adopted all the tactics, but failed. The Deputy Chief Minister emphasized that the Himachal Pradesh government is stable and said that it will get more stability when the by-election results are declared on June 4. He said, ‘In the present House of 62 MLAs, we have 34 MLAs and BJP has 25 MLAs.’ Members of the Congress Coordination Committee for Himachal Pradesh include Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu, Mukesh Agnihotri and Pratibha Singh. Senior party leaders Kaul Singh Thakur, Dhaniram Shandil and Ram Lal Thakur are the other members of the panel.
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