Sukhu bats for fielding winnable, loyal Cong men
At a time when the Congress is divided over fielding Independent legislator Rajinder Rana from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, Himachal Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has advocated for giving preference to party men while selecting candidates, instead of outsiders.
At a time when the Congress is divided over fielding Independent legislator Rajinder Rana from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, Himachal Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has advocated for giving preference to party men while selecting candidates, instead of outsiders.
Congress will field party men from all four Lok Sabha seats and “win-ability” would be the main criteria for selection, said Sukhu at a press conference here on Monday. “Tickets will be declared soon; preference will be given to Congress loyalists,” he said.
Sukhu, however, said he was not against any leader from outside the party, but being a party president his first duty was to strengthen the party and there were several 'winnable' candidates in the party.
Replying to a question on fielding union culture minister Chandresh Kumari as a candidate, he said her name cropped up after a meeting of the Congress' central election committee (CEC) in New Delhi. Chandresh Kumari is a Congress leader from Himachal Pradesh, but is the Lok Sabha member from Jodhpur, Rajasthan. “Name of
Chandresh Kumari came up after the CEC's meeting in New Delhi,” he said.
On Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) decision to boycott chief minister Virbhadra Singh, Sukhu said the BJP was exposed in the Vidhan Sabha.
Sukhu also said All India Congress Committee vice-president Rahul Gandhi's rally to be held in Dharamsala on March 8 will be a historic one. He added that the party had already assigned duties to all party men to ensure the rally's success.