Virbhadra to contest from Mandi

The central election committee of the Congress,which met today in Delhi,is understood to have cleared the names of three candidates for Himachal Pradesh.

Congress veteran and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh will fight from Mandi,a constituency he had represented as union minister in Indira Gandhis ministry till 1984,before he returned to the state as chief minister.

There is no name cleared for the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency,because of sharp division among the state Congress leaders over name of Narinder Thakur,son BJP veteran late Jagdev Chand. Thakur had joined the party recently. One group was pressing upon the name of cricketer Madan Lal,which the PCC president Kaul Singh Thakur did not accept,since he favours Narinder Thakur.

Other candidates include Chander Kumar,a sitting Lok Sabha member from Kangra and Dhani Ram Shandil from Shimla (reserve).

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shanta Kumar,who has since been elected to Rajya Sabha,will not contest the election from Kangra. Here,the party has named Sajan Sushant,a sitting MLA to face Chander Kumar,an OBC leader.

In Hamirpur,Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumals son Anurag Thakur will contest for the second time.

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