Virbhadra quits all party posts in a huff

In a major blow to the Congress’ hopes in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, party veteran Virbhadra Singh resigned from all key party posts. The five-time chief minister could “go his own way” in the assembly elections to be held by November.

In a major blow to the Congress’ hopes in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, party veteran Virbhadra Singh has resigned from all key party posts. The five-time chief minister could “go his own way” in the assembly elections to be held by November.

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The trigger, according to sources close to Singh, is his exclusion from the screening committee formed for short-listing candidates for the polls. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit was named head of the panel.

HT has learnt that Singh, 78, sent his resignation from the posts of chairman of the campaign committee and member of the manifesto and strategy panels on Tuesday.

Taken aback, the central leadership stepped up efforts to persuade Singh, considered to be the party’s biggest vote catcher in Himachal, to withdraw his resignation. Singh was given charge of the campaign shortly after he quit as minister after a Shimla court ruled that charges be made out against him in a 23-year-old graft case.

The senior-most MP in the current Lok Sabha, Singh made it known to the party that he was not willing to work under commerce minister Anand Sharma, several decades junior to him in politics.

What’s more, Singh’s supporters have been putting pressure on him to either float his own outfit or align with a regional front in the state, comprising prominent BJP rebels and smaller parties.