Shimla (Himachal Pradesh): In a major setback to the Congress party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief and MP from Mandi, Pratibha Singh, on Wednesday refused to contest the elections, citing the disappointment of the workers by the party's negligence.
"I have refused to contest elections. I am not in this situation. MPs cannot win elections just by distributing funds. Our workers are disappointed. Workers should have been given responsibility and importance in time, so that they could come out and campaign" Pratibha Singh told reporters here.
"Today, I do not see any active worker. Who will work for the party? Elections are won only because of the workers. Workers play a very important role only then we can become strong and be in a condition to contest elections," added Pratibha, who is the widow of former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
"I have toured every area extensively. According to the situation, I do not think that we will be very successful in the elections. Therefore, I have withdrawn my name and told them (the party high command) that I will not contest the elections. You can do whatever you want. Field them (candidates) as you deem fit and we will work for them," added Pratibha Singh.
Pratibha Singh became MP by winning the Mandi Lok Sabha by-election held in 2021. It was believed that it would be a challenge for Congress to find candidates for three out of four seats in Himachal Pradesh and Pratibha Singh could be once again fielded from Mandi.
But after the changed political situation in Himachal Pradesh after the Rajya Sabha elections where Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost, the political equations are changing every moment.
Pratibha Singh has given a big blow to the preparations of Congress before the Lok Sabha elections. Pratibha Singh had also raised questions on the functioning of the Himachal Pradesh government led by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and for ignoring party workers.
The BJP has claimed to win all four seats in the hill state. Earlier, in the Lok Sabha elections held in 2014 and 2019, BJP had won all the four seats in Himachal Pradesh.
Read More
