Amidst rush,Virbhadra,Stokes & 25 BJP candidates file nominations

Beside Virbhadra Singh,CLP leader Vidya Stokes stormed Theog town as she addressed her first major campaign rally after filing her nomination on Wednesday. She had lost the 1993 election in Theog and thereafter shifted to Kumarsain in 2003 and 2007. With Kumarsain being scrapped,Stokes is back at Theog.

Another big event on the last day was BJP minister Mohinder Singh filing his nomination from Dharampur constituency,where he was joined by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal,at a mammoth rally in his stronghold. Singh has won five consecutive elections here but all on different party tickets.

In Shimla,after filing his nomination Virbhadra Singh launched a fresh attack against the BJP particularly the ruling party targeting him over the Ispat Industries pay off controversy.

“It’s not only the top BJP leadership which is behind it but also some media groups,both private TV channels and newspapers. I will expose each one of them at the right time once the elections are over,” he told reporters here.

On the Congress’s prospects in the elections,the PCC president said: “I am expecting a comfortable majority for the party. The Congress will form the next government and that will mark end of a corrupt BJP regime in Himachal Pradesh”.

Equally emphatic was Dhumal,who questioned Virbhadra’s moral right to accuse BJP of corruption,when the latest expose has brought a bad name to Himachal Pradesh.

Ispat row: BJP wants Virbhadra to quit as chief

In the wake of the Ispat Industries’ payoff expose,the BJP on Wednesday demanded that Himachal Congress chief Virbhadra Singh must quit the party post and also retire from electoral politics till he is cleared of the corruption charges.

“Virbhadra Singh has no moral right to stay in the electoral fray and it is high time that he faces an inquiry and come out clean,” BJP spokesman Ganesh Dutt told mediapersons.

While attacking Congress media incharge Mukesh Agnihotri for attempting to defend Virbhadra and raising fingers at the BJP instead,Datt said: “The party was levelling baseless charges against Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in regard to a complaint filed by a former IPS officer (late) B S Thind before the Lokayukta. Congress leaders are making an unsuccessful attempt to divert the attention of the public from issues of corruption and scams.”

Referring to the Lokayukta report,Dutt said: “The report has made it clear that the allegations were supported by a newspaper cutting to malign the image of a specific person.”