Trouble brews in Himachal Congress ahead of assembly polls

Congress' bid to bring peace to its Himachal Pradesh unit has come to a cropper with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh announcing that he would not contest the upcoming November assembly elections.
 
Congress insiders view Virbhadra Singh's surprise declaration at a meeting of the legislature party meeting is seen as part of tactics to force the party high command to accede to his demand for the ouster of bete noire and state unit chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.
 
A shocked CLP passed a resolution hailing Virbhadra Singh as the “tallest” leader in the state and urging the high command to intervene in the matter. “Every passing minute is fatal to the party and this uncertainty is causing huge damage,” it said.
 
The 83-year-old chief minister, who is into his sixth term, has also shot off a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressing displeasure over the manner in which the party was being run by Sukhu in the state.
 
“We are not aware of any such letter,” Congress spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters at the AICC briefing.
 
Sukhu is considered close to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, which a section of the Himachal unit believes is the reason for AICC leadership reluctance to act against him.
 
Newly appointed AICC General Secretary Sushilkumar Shinde had made attempts to broker peace between the two factions by getting them to the discussion table, but the efforts have come to a cropper with the chief minister holding out a threat of pulling out of the elections.
 
“It is a repeat of 2012,” a senior Congress leader said recalling Virbhadra Singh's successful coup against the then state unit chief Kaul Singh Thakur. Virbhadra had succeeded in forcing the party high command to appoint him as the state unit chief and subsequently the chief minister.
 
The leader pointed out to similar tough talking by Amarinder Singh ahead of the Punjab assembly elections and forcing the AICC to accept his leadership.