Reported & Written By Kumud Sharma, Diary Times, Shimla, April 13: Congress has announced candidates for two out of four seats in Himachal Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Congress high command has made both the sitting MLAs candidates. These include a cabinet minister. There is a dilemma on two other Lok Sabha seats, Hamirpur and Kangra. Candidates have not been declared for these seats. Similarly, candidates have not been decided yet for six seats of the Legislative Assembly by-election.
State Congress President Pratibha Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh will be the Congress candidate for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat which is making headlines in the country. Whereas sitting MLA Vinod Sultanpuri has been fielded on Shimla reserved Lok Sabha seat. Vinod Sultanpuri, 42, is the MLA from Kasauli in Solan district of Shimla parliamentary constituency. He has reached the assembly for the first time. He will face BJP’s Suresh Kashyap. His father, late KD Sultanpuri, holds the record of becoming Congress MP from Shimla Lok Sabha seat for six consecutive terms.
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Congress has once again expressed confidence in the Virbhadra family to contest against BJP candidate and Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut from Mandi seat. Vikramaditya Singh, who has been made the candidate from here, is the son of late Virbhadra Singh. He is the MLA of Shimla Rural and is the minister of major departments like Public Works and Urban Development in the Sukhu government. Congress High Command has canceled the ticket of outgoing MP Pratibha Singh from Mandi seat.
Pratibha Singh is in charge of the state Congress. Pratibha Singh surprised everyone by defeating BJP in the Lok Sabha by-election held on Mandi seat in the year 2021. At that time BJP was in power in the state and Jairam Thakur was the Chief Minister. Pratibha Singh had refused to contest the Lok Sabha elections this time.
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Her son Vikramaditya Singh, who was made the candidate in place of Pratibha Singh, has emerged as a dynamic leader. Congress has made a move to attract young voters by fielding 35-year-old Vikramaditya Singh to contest against 37-year-old Kangana.
Actually, Vikramaditya Singh remains in the news for his statements and has good influence among the youth of the state. Virbhadra family has hoisted the flag on Mandi Lok Sabha seat six times. Late Virbhadra Singh and Pratibha Singh have been Lok Sabha MPs from Mandi three times each. Vikramaditya Singh is considered a dynamic leader and has good influence in the areas of Rampur, Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur of Mandi parliamentary constituency.
Talking about Shimla reserved Lok Sabha seat, Congress has dominated this seat. Congress has been winning mostly from here. This seat has been in the possession of BJP for the last 10 years. Late KD Sultanpuri, father of Vinod Sultanpuri, who was declared as the Congress candidate, built such a fort on this Lok Sabha seat that no one could penetrate during his election campaign. He remained victorious from here six consecutive times. No one has been able to break his record of consecutive wins.
BJP was able to hoist its flag on Shimla parliamentary seat only after KD Sultanpuri withdrew from the election field. He had won from here in 1980, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1998. Congress, which won six consecutive Lok Sabha elections, could not save this fort in the 13th Lok Sabha elections. KD Sultanpuri did not contest elections in the year 1999. During that time, constable Dhaniram Shandil of Himachal Vikas Congress had breached this fort of Congress.
However, Congress has made the election contest very interesting by fielding young and sitting MLAs as candidates for Shimla and Mandi Lok Sabha seats. By fielding sitting MLAs as candidates for two out of four Lok Sabha seats in the state, Congress has given the message that there is no threat to their government in the state.
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