Himachal bypoll: In Lahaul-Spiti, CM tells party workers to ensure Ravi ’s defeat for his ‘act of betrayal’

Tribune News Service

Mandi, April 28

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today held a meeting with party workers at Keylong in tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti to take their views about the party candidate to contests the Assembly by-election in Lahaul and Spiti against BJP candidate Ravi Thakur. Former Congress MLA Ravi Thakur rebelled against the Congress in the recently held Rajya Sabha election in Himachal by voting in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan.

The CM urged the party workers and people to work hard to ensure that Ravi Thakur forfeited his security deposit in the Assembly byelection, which is scheduled on June 1.

He alleged that “Ravi Thakur compromised his honour for money, which he took from the BJP. He took Rs 15 crore and now he will spend this amount among the public to win the election. He will try to buy your vote by money power and it is the right time to teach him a lesson by defeating him with a huge margin of votes.”

Targeting the BJP candidate, the Chief Minister said, “Ravi Thakur betrayed the people of Lahaul and Spiti, who had elected him on Congress ticket. He brought shame to the people of Lahaul and Spiti and the state by his misdeed. So, you all have to unite against him and vote for the Congress candidate on June 1.”

“Similarly, voting will be held on June 1 for the Lok Sabha election and Vikramaditya Singh is the Congress candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha seat. The BJP had tried to destabilise the state government by money power, so it is the right time to oust the BJP from power at the Centre,” he added

However, ticket aspirants of Congress in Lahaul and Spiti are in a dilemma because the CM gave no clear indication to whom ticket will be given. The ticket aspirants are apprehensive that the ticket may be given to BJP rebel and former minister Ram Lal Markanda. The aspirants have opposed the entry of Markanda in the Congress. BJP gave ticket to Congress rebel Ravi Thakur in Lahaul and Spiti.

When asked, BJP candidate Ravi Thakur said that the comments of the Chief Minister against him were derogatory. “I ask the CM, had he done a deal with Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi to field him for the Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal despite the fact that Singhvi is from Delhi.” Ravi said that for his such remarks, legal notices were already served on Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu and more notices would be served in near future if he did not stop making such remarks.

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