Lalit Mohan
Dharamsala, April 18
The delay on the part of the Congress to declare its candidates for the six Assembly byelections and the Kangra and Hamirpur parliamentary seats is making ticket aspirants nervous.
A ticket aspirant for the Kangra parliamentary seat told The Tribune that a decision on the candidates was a difficult task for the Congress. “There are 17 Assembly segments under the Kangra parliamentary seat, which extend across Kangra and Chamba districts. It will take at least two days for any candidate to visit each of these Assembly constituencies. The BJP had announced its candidates last month and they were already visiting Assembly constituencies and holding rallies. If there is more delay in deciding the candidates, more difficult it will be for them to visit all areas,” he said.
Sources said that the delay on the part of the Congress in deciding candidates was due to the reluctance of some candidates and the willingness of the party leadership to give ticket to BJP rebels to improve victory prospects.
They said that the Congress high command wanted Nagrota Bagwan MLA RS Bali to contest the Kangra Lok Sabha election but he showed reluctance on the plea that he was elected MLA for the first time and was still nurturing his constituency.
The sources said, “The Congress is also considering the candidature of former minister Asha Kumari for the Kangra parliamentary seat. Some Congress leaders are opposed to her candidature as she comes from Chamba district, which has much less percentage of voters in the constituency as compared to Kangra district.”
They added, “The party is also weighing caste equations. It has already fielded a Rajput leader in Vikramaditya Singh from the Mandi parliamentary constituency. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has announced former MLA Satpal Raizada as the candidate from the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency but the party high command is yet to approve his candidature. Asha Kumari is also a Rajput leader and the party is wary of fielding Rajput candidates on three Lok Sabha seats in the state.”
The sources said in the Dharamsala Assembly constituency, Congress leaders were in touch with OBC leader Rakesh Chaudhary, who had resigned from the BJP after the party gave ticket to Sudhir Sharma for the byelection. “Rakesh Chaudhary has demanded Congress ticket for the Dharamsala byelection and said if he is not nominated he would contest as an Independent candidate. The Congress is considering Chaudhary’s candidature but is fearful of a revolt in its ranks if it gives him ticket,” they added.
Many Gaddi leaders from Dharamsala have also staked their claim to the Congress ticket for the byelection. The sources said that the Chief Minister was supporting former Mayor Davinder Jaggi’s candidature.
The delay in announcing the candidate to take on Sudhir Sharma in the Dharamsala byelection may mar the chances of the party, said Congress leaders from the constituency.
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