Himachal Pradesh Elections 2022: Eyes on Pratibha Singh, widow of former CM Virbhadra Singh

She first got elected to the Lok Sabha back in 2004 after defeating BJP's Maheshwar Singh, from Mandi constituency

Pratibha Singh is the second wife of late Virbhadra Singh, Himachal's fourth and longest-serving chief minister, who was at the top post for 6 terms, spanning 21 years.

The princess of Keonthal, a princely state in the British Raj, Pratibha tied the knot with Virbhadra Singh in 1985, following the latter's first wife Ratna Kumari's death in 1983. Pratibha and Virbhadra's daughter is married to former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh's grandson, Angad Singh. Their son Vikramaditya Singh currently serves as the Shimla Rural MLA. Vikramaditya is also the second richest candidate contesting in this year's elections, having declared assets worth more than Rs 101 crore.

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A member of the Congress party, Pratibha Singh is an MP from the Lok Sabha Mandi constituency. She was elected in the bye-elections held last year, following the death of Ram Swaroop Sharma. She defeated BJP's Khushal Thakur, a Kargil war hero, by a margin of 7,490 votes in the bypolls held last year. Pratibha is also the current president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), a strategic move by the party after the demise of Virbhadra, a dominant leader in state politics.

She was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004, after defeating BJP's Maheshwar Singh from the same constituency and was re-elected in 2013's bye-elections.

Elections to the 68-member Himachal Pradesh assembly will be held on November 12 and counting will take place on December 8.