Congress workers urge high command not to field Ram Lal Markanda

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, April 5

Congress workers of the Lahaul and Spiti Assembly constituency have urged the party high command not to give ticket to BJP dissident and former minister Ram Lal Markanda to fight the byelection. Markanda has expressed willingness to contest the byelection on the Congress ticket. Many of them have even threatened to resign en masse if Markanda is given ticket from Lahaul and Spiti.

District Lahaul and Spiti Congress spokesperson Anil Sehgal today said that a meeting of the Lahaul-Spiti District Congress Committee would be held tomorrow and Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sunder Singh Thakur would be present there as observers. He added that brainstorming would be done regarding the ticket aspirants for the upcoming Lahaul and Spiti byelection.

Sehgal said, “The main objective of the meeting is to enlist the cooperation of all interested candidates in the presence of the observers to come to a conclusion.”

He said that the people of Lahaul and Spiti had tried both Ravi Thakur and Ram Lal Markanda and they now wanted to give a chance to a new face to represent the district. He added, “There is strong resentment among people against Ravi Thakur and they will ensure his defeat in the byelection.” A few days ago, a meeting of the party was held at Keylong in which all participants had unanimously stated that instead of fielding an outsider, a dedicated worker should be given ticket to contest the Assembly byelection. About 15 Congress leaders have shown interest in fighting the byelection.

Many BJP leaders are still upset that the party has given ticket to Congress turncoat Ravi Thakur. Meanwhile, Ravi Thakur is busy in damage control and is holding meetings with the people of Lahaul-Spiti in Manali.

Govind Singh Thakur, former minister and in-charge of the Mandi parliamentary Constituency, has urged the party workers and office-bearers of Lahaul and Spiti to fight the byelection unitedly. While the BJP has already fielded Ravi Thakur, the Congress is yet to decide its candidate.

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