Himachal Pradesh chief minister, Virbhadra Singh’s latest move to declare that he may not contest ensuing assembly polls “in view of the state of affairs in Congress in HP” is being taken with a pinch of salt in political circles.
The reports that Singh even shot off letter to the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi in this regard and may meet her in Delhi has led to anxiety in the ruling party, which is going to polls this time with worse infighting and three decade ‘history of change’ every five years lurking over it.
Keeping aside some governance failures, the Congress government did much development on ground in this tenure.
However, what ails the ruling party is the lack of co-ordination between the CM and state Congress president, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Although young, Sukhu has been troubling the octogenarian and six-time CM with his hold in the party organisation and the high command over last four years.
The efforts of CM’s camp to get Sukhu replaced ahead of assembly polls have not yielded results so far.
Even All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and party incharge for HP, Sushil Kumar Shinde too clarified this in public that there would be no change in the organisation before polls.
Singh has been a tall Congress leader with mass appeal, having dominated Congress politics in HP since 1983 when he first came here from Central politics.
But, sources said, what has made him uncomfortable recently is Shinde’s stance of ‘going to polls with collective leadership’.
Congress sources said his move may be aimed at exerting pressure either to oust Sukhu or get himself declared as the CM’s face before polls, as in Punjab. Sukhu, who has so far has his say in party matters, is mum. “The party is preparing for the polls and we will fight under the collective leadership as told by the high command,” he said.
The Congress party has not been declaring the chief ministerial candidate in HP over the last decades.
In 2012, the CM’s face had, however, become more than obvious when Singh, in a sudden twist of events, replaced the then state party president, Kaul Singh Thakur in HP just ahead of polls.
Singh had to quit the Union ministry, then after framing of charges by the trial court in a corruption case. But the Congress high command had reportedly succumbed to pressure tactics by his camp, wherein there were strong rumours that he may quit Congress.
Singh’s forceful re-entry in HP politics confused ruling BJP then, which targeted Singh the most on corruption issue in the entire poll campaign. But that was not to be and finally, Singh’s leadership, Congress made it to power. Before he took oath as CM he was acquitted from a court in the corruption case.