The Congress party’s choice of candidate for Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh is tied to its strategy of quelling factionalism in the State unit as well as provide stability to the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government.
Sources told The Hindu that the son of former Chief Minister late Virbhadra Singh and State unit chief Pratibha Singh, Vikramaditya Singh, is most likely going to be pitted against BJP candidate and film actor Kangana Ranaut.
Ms. Pratibha had already announced her decision to opt out of the electoral race. The party is hoping that Mr Vikramaditya’s candidature would be able to paper over the cracks in the State unit, that have sharpened after the defeat of Abhishek M. Singhvi — the official Congress candidate in the recent Rajya Sabha election — due to cross-voting by six MLAs of the ruling party.
