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Cong placates Virbhadra, says his demands will not be ignored
Anita Katyal/TNS

New Delhi, August 21
The Congress leadership today succeeded in mollifying a defiant Virbhadra Singh who had threatened to leave the party to press his demand for a lead role in the upcoming Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi held two lengthy meetings with five-time former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Virbhadra, who had summoned his supporters to the Capital today as a show of strength. There was speculation that he was in touch with the NCP and the Trinamool Congress for a possible tie-up with either of the parties in the year-end elections.

Today’s confabulations came in the backdrop of Virbhadra’s meeting with Sonia’s political secretary Ahmed Patel last night, who assured him that his demands would not be ignored.

The party leadership rushed to placate Virbhadra as it realised that the senior leader has a mass following in the hill state and can play spoiler in the crucial Assembly elections. The Congress is handicapped in Himachal Pradesh as it does not have effective second-rung leaders. It has to depend on the veteran to pull in the crowds.

Sources close to the former Chief Minister said there was a clear change in the tone and tenor adopted by Virbhadra after his meetings with Sonia which indicates that she had been receptive to his suggestions. In this context, Virbhadra’s supporters hinted at the possibility of a reshuffle in the Himachal Pradesh Congress unit in the coming days.

At the same time, the party leadership is amenable to Virbhadra’s demand for the appointment of a working president to assist the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief and has proposed the name of Sirmour MLA Ganguram Musafir for this post. Birender Singh, AICC general secretary in charge of Himachal Pradesh, did not confirm or deny the report. But a senior Congress functionary disclosed that the proposal for Musafir’s appointment is on the table and a formal letter is yet to be issued. Virbhadra is pressing for a lion’s share of tickets for his supporters and wants that the upcoming Assembly polls be conducted under his leadership. This will ensure that he becomes the automatic choice for the Chief Minister’s post in case the Congress emerges victorious in the polls. The party leadership has already agreed to his demand that he should be allowed to contest the Assembly polls.

Unhappy with the composition of election-related committees, Virbhadra had resigned from all panels in protest. He was particularly upset that the campaign committee, which he heads, was set up without consulting him and he was excluded from the ticket screening committee.