The Congress may field Vikramaditya Singh, son of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh. Vikramaditya's mother and Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh is the sitting MP from Mandi. The BJP has fielded actor Kangana Ranaut from the seat.
On Monday, Pratibha Singh said being the state Congress president, she wants to work in the entire Himachal. "If I contest elections, then I will be limited to Mandi seat," she said while speaking to news agency ANI. "It was the suggestion of the senior leaders of the party that Vikramaditya Singh is a young face, youth leader, who has a good connect with the youth. The party high command has accepted this and they will give their decision on it soon."
Vikramaditya Singh said the CEC meeting on April 13 will decide who will be given the ticket from Mandi. "Pratibha Singh has served there for a long time. Ultimately the party has to decide. All the pros and cons have to be taken into consideration. We will not just fight but fight to win, we will definitely win," he said.
Last month, Pratibha Singh said she won't contest the election from Mandi as the party was not in a position to put up a fight. She said she had 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.
Singh's comment came at a time when the state unit was divided in two factions over the functioning of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. The trouble started after six Congress MLAs close to Pratibha Singh cross-voted for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha election. Following this, the Himachal Speaker disqualified all six MLAs. Pratibha Singh objected to the move and urged the Speaker to reverse the decision.
Speaking on the rebel MLAs, the Congress leader had 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."