Himachal Pradesh Congress Chief Withdraws Lok Sabha Candidacy. Pratibha Singh, the state Congress Chief and Mandi MP, announced her decision not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from her parliamentary seat. She expressed her focus on securing victories for the party in the by-elections for six vacant seats, resulting from party legislators cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.
Singh explained her decision, stating that she proposed Kaul Singh Thakur’s name for the Mandi seat to the party leadership, emphasizing the importance of winning the upcoming by-elections. She highlighted Thakur’s familiarity with the area and understanding of local issues.
The six seats became vacant after Congress legislators, who had cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections and defied party instructions during the state budget vote in the assembly, were suspended.
Himachal Pradesh has four Lok Sabha seats, all won by the BJP in 2019. Pratibha Singh reclaimed the Mandi seat for Congress in a bypoll held in 2021.
Simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls on June 1, by-elections for the six assembly seats will be conducted. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4, as confirmed by the state’s Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg.