Back with the leader he crusaded against

Wherever he goes,Vijai Singh Mankotia finds himself explaining why he is back in the Congress and what his current stand is on alleged corruption involving party leaders.

Mankotia,who is contesting from Shahpur,retains his twin images: the constant party-hopper and the crusader against corruption. His comeback into the Congress follows after he had taken on Virbhadra Singh for alleged corruption. Both Virbhadra and Mankotia have since announced that it was the former who made the first step towards a patch-up.

Mankotia spoke about the patch-up at a press conference in Dharmsala too. PTI quoted him as saying that Virbhadra had called up saying he wanted to bury the past,and Mankotia responded that he was willing to walk 10 steps if Virbhadra walked two.

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The Congress has wooed back former rebel Onkar Singh Rana too. Rana had contested from Shahpur in 2007 on a BSP ticket and most of his 18,000 votes are believed to have come from the Congresss traditional bank. This time,Rana is campaigning for Mankotia.

Mankotia,a retired major,is seeking to tap 11,000 ex-servicemens votes in a constituency of 70,000. As chairman of the All India Ex-services League,he had hinted at opening a political front of ex-servicemen before he eventually returned to the Congress.

Sitting MLA Sarveen Chaudhary (BJP) too has an Army connection. Her husband is a brigadier.

Shahpurs 53 gram panchayats are mainly dominated by the Rajput community,to which Mankotia belongs. He has been campaigning 16 to 18 hours a day,starting 6 am and covering five or six gram panchayats.

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On Thursday,he addressed a public meeting organised by Shahpurs ex-servicemen. I am proud to have been a member of the armed forces, he said. The time has come for soldiers to unite and uproot the corrupt system of politics. He took up a subject the audience would identify with: The Congress has implemented a one-rank,one-pension scheme. A division bench of the Supreme Court questioned why ex-servicemen are being treated as beggars. I have been fighting for your cause and will continue to do so.

In the village of Rehlu,former rebel Rana praised Mankotia. Corruption has affected our country. Mankotiaji has a clean image and no one can ever point a finger at him as far as his integrity is concerned, Rana told The Indian Express.

To voters in the villages,it is the candidate rather than his issues that is of more interest. Mankotia has done a lot for Shahpur. He brought a school,a college,tehsil status,roads and many other things here, said Sumitra Devi of Rehlu. We are not concerned if Virbhadra faces corruption charges or if Congress leaders are involved in such cases. As long as our leader is clean,we hope he will make efforts for our uplift.

The party gave me too few days to campaign since I was chosen at the last minute. But I have always been in touch with the people of Shahpur, Mankotia said.

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Himachal has 11 lakh unemployed youths,of whom over 3.5 lakh are in Kangra district alone. The BJP government has a debt over Rs 28,000 crore. When it came to filling vacancies,the BJP government started abolishing posts. If I win,employment,industrialisation,corporate investment and getting more facilities for the people of Shahpur will be my priorities, he said.