HVC, BJP head for confrontation
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 2 — The Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) and the BJP seemed to be heading for a confrontation today with the HVC announcing the candidature of Mr Haminder Thakur for the byelection to the Solan Assembly seat without consulting its alliance partner.

The Solan seat has fallen vacant following the unseating of the Congress MLA, Ms Krishna Mohini.

The decision was taken unanimously at a meeting of the executive committee of the HVC here today.

It was learnt that most of the executive members wanted that the BJP should let the HVC contest the seat as the party had earlier agreed to the BJP contesting the Baijnath Assembly byelection.

The HVC chief, Mr Sukh Ram, was understood to have told the executive members that he would discuss the issue with the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal.

Sources said several members were of the opinion that the party should field its candidate even if the BJP decided to contest it. A "friendly match" should be held, if the latter did not relent.

This was being considered an effort of the HVC to increase its strength in the Assembly as Mr Sukh Ram’s clout with the BJP-led government has been on the wane.

Mr Sukh Ram reportedly told the members that a review petition had been filed before the Speaker of the Assembly on his ruling confirming the two ministers, Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary, who had contested the election on the HVC symbol, as members of the BJP.

The two had contested the election as HVC candidates and were later persuaded to join the BJP by Mr Sukh Ram as part of his strategy to prevent Mr Virbhadra Singh from forming a Congress government in the state.

Mr Sukh Ram clarified that he had pleaded with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to include someone from the HVC in his ministry as he had done in case of various smaller parties.

He was also learnt to have clarified that he had not sought deputy chief ministership.

The PWD Minister, Mr Mohinder Singh, made it clear that there was no question of his joining the BJP and such reports were baseless. There was no truth in reports that the HVC was disintegrating, he said.