In a massive jolt to the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, state party chief Pratibha Singh on Wednesday said she has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections as the ground situation is "not favourable".
Pratibha Singh is the sitting MP from Mandi. She said she has toured the state extensively and found that no worker was active. "In such a situation, it is difficult to achieve success," she told reporters.
"I have declined to contest elections as I am not in a position to put up a fight. You cannot win polls just by distributing MPLAD funds," she said and added that if the party workers who had worked hard for the party's victory in the assembly polls were given responsibilities and importance, they would have been active on the ground.
All is not well in the Congress party's Himachal unit since six of the party MLAs close to Pratibha Singh cross-voted for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha election. Following the cross-voting, the Himachal Speaker disqualified all six MLAs. Pratibha Singh objected to the move and urged the Speaker to reverse the move.
Today, speaking to news agency ANI, the Congress leader said: "We have a new challenge in front of us in the form of six MLAs who have been suspended from the party. By-elections are going to be held on these six seats and we must win on all, and it is my responsibility to make them win. This is why I withdrew my candidature from Mandi."
She said the situation was very different earlier. "Winning the Lok Sabha elections was the priority of the party for which, I have visited Mandi multiple times and I am well aware of all nooks and corners of my constituency. I have suggested the name of Kaul Singh Thakur for Mandi as he is well known in the area and also has a good understanding of the ground."
Earlier this month, Pratibha Singh, the wife of former Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, said the BJP's work was better than Congress. She said a lot of things remained to be done in the Congress.
"As an MP, I keep visiting my constituency and try to interact with the local people and solve their problems. It is from their feedback that I have come to understand that the BJP's workings have been better than ours,” the Congress MP told news agency ANI.
Pratibha Singh had backed the six rebel party leaders who had cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections, saying it was natural for MLAs to be upset. "Definitely, why not? When it has been more than a year and you take no cognizance or listen to them, it is natural for them to be upset. Had you sat them down, talked to them, and found out a solution, this situation would not have occurred," she said.
(With inputs from PTI)