NewDelhi: Congress is in a tizzy over Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh’s threat that he will not lead the party in the coming assembly elections if the leadership does not remove state unit chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
In a letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, according to an aide,Singh has said that there was absence of coordination between the government and the party, and that it was not possible for him to lead the campaign in such a situation. Singh has demanded that Sukhu be removed from the post with a rejig in the state unit, the aide said.
To pressure the leadership, Singh also got the legislature party to pass a resolution last week, with the MLAs saying they wanted to contest the election under the CM’s leadership.
Sukhu and Singh have been at loggerheads for a while now and the CM had earlier asked the leadership to remove him, a demand rejected by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. However, Congress may find it difficult to withstand the pressure being mounted afresh by the CM.
Himachal Pradesh, which goes to polls in December, has a history of throwing out the incumbent and Congress leaders concede that it will be a very difficult election to contest against BJP.
Singh’s withdrawal from the polls after ruling the state for five years will rob the Congress of its mascot and leave it nowhere.
Bureau Report
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