Himachal Pradesh Congress struggles with nominees' list, no consensus yet on 20 seats
Pratibha Chauhan
Shimla, October 10
Even as the BJP has taken a head start in launching its election campaign being spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress is still struggling to finalise candidates on about 20 seats, where a consensus eludes the party.
Decision pending
The seats where the Congress decision on the candidates is pending include Shimla (Urban) and Theog (Shimla), Dharamsala, Sulah, Nurpur and Shahpur (Kangra), Pacchad (Sirmaur), Mandi (Sadar) and Bharmour in Chamba
The seats where a decision on the candidates is pending include Shimla (Urban) and Theog (Shimla), Dharamsala, Sulah, Nurpur and Shahpur (Kangra), Pacchad (Sirmaur), Mandi (Sadar) and Bharmour in Chamba. The central election committee, headed by AICC interim president Sonia Gandhi, is expected to take a call on these pending seats once she returns to Delhi from Shimla on October 12. Sonia arrived here today on a private visit to spend time at her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s house at Chhabra. Priyanka arrived here on October 4 earlier this week.
While PM Modi will address a second public meeting in the election-bound state within a span of 10 days, the Congress is eagerly awaiting the election rally to be addressed by AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi at Solan on October 14. Modi addressed a public meeting at Bilaspur on October 5 after inaugurating the Rs 1,471-crore AIIMS. The PM will address a public meeting at Chamba on October 13.
Although the election committee of the Congress has cleared almost 45 candidates, the official list is yet to be released. There is still no unanimity on the candidature on about 20 seats of the 68 as panels with two or more names have been formed. The Congress election committee is likely to meet on October 14 in Delhi to finalise the ticket for the pending constituencies.
