Shimla, December 24
The stage is set for Virbhadra Singh’s swearing-in as Chief Minister for a record sixth time. The ceremony will be held in the open, on the Ridge, for which elaborate arrangements are being made by the administration.

All roads leading to the venue are being repaired and railings have been given a fresh coat of paint. A festive atmosphere prevails in the town. A large number of Virbhadra supporters donning green Himachali caps have arrived.

Governor Urmila Singh invited 78-year-old Virbhadra to form the government after he was elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party. For the third time, the oath-taking ceremony will be held on the Ridge.

The first Chief Minister, Dr YS Parmar, was sworn in at this venue on January 25, 1971. PK Dhumal was the second Chief Minister to take oath on the Ridge on December 30, 2007.

Virbhadra had first assumed office of Chief Minister on April 8, 1983, replacing Thakur Ram Lal mid-term. Virbhadra became Chief Minister again after the Congress swept the elections in 1985 and competed his term.

He outmanoeuvred his rival, the then Union Telecommunications Minister Sukh Ram, to become Chief Minister for the third time in November 1993. After a four-year term, he opted for a snap poll, in which the Congress was defeated.

He was Chief Minister for just 12 days in 1998 as he could not prove his majority after taking oath. He regained power in 2003 and completed his term again.

Belonging to the erstwhile princely state of Rampur Bushahr, he entered politics in 1962 with a thumping victory in the Lok Sabha elections from Mahasu. He was subsequently elected as a Member of Parliament again in 1967, 1972, 1980 and 2009.

Shimla, December 24
After hectic lobbying and bargaining for plum portfolios, the way was paved for the swearing-in of at least eight Cabinet ministers along with Virbhadra Singh.

Sources said Vidya Stokes, Kaul Singh Thakur, GS Bali, Sujan Singh Pathania, Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Mukesh Agnihotri, Sudhir Sharma and Prakash Chaudhary would take oath tomorrow. The names of Anil Sharma, Dhani Ram Shandil and Neeraj Bharati could be added.

It is learnt that one of the main opponents of Virbhadra, Asha Kumari has refused to be part of the ministry and Kaul Singh and Bali were also reluctant to take oath initially. There was much behind-the-scene activity and hard negotiations after which the list was finally cleared by the high command.

The names of strong contenders Karan Singh and BBL Butail are missing from the list.

As the state can have a maximum of 12 ministers, including the Chief Minister, there is still room for three more ministers. Virbhadra has left scope for manoeuvring. The name of Kuldeep Kumar is being tipped for the post of Speaker. Virbhadra had indicated that he would have a three-tier ministry which would include chief parliamentary secretaries (CPSs) which were not covered under the cap of 12.

Other aspirants who could be adjusted as ministers of state or CPSs later include Rajesh Dharmani, Jagjivan Pal and Jagat Singh Negi.

Shimla, December 24
Outgoing Chief Minister PK Dhumal was unanimously elected leader of the BJP Legislature Party during a meeting of the 26 newly elected legislators here today.

All 26 BJP legislators, including state BJP chief Sat Pal Singh Satti and seven first-timers, were present. Thavar Chand Gehlot, national general secretary, had been deputed by the BJP parliamentary board to conduct the election.

Shimla legislator Suresh Bhardwaj proposed Dhumal’s name, which was unanimously supported by all legislators. Dhumal and Gehlot exhorted party workers to gear up for the by-election to the Mandi parliamentary constituency, which was represented by Virbhadra Singh.

“We have exhorted the legislators and party workers to gear up for Lok Sabha by-elections and for the Mandi seat in particular, the election to which will be held within six months,” Dhumal said.

He said the BJP could not form the government even though the mood was in favour of the party, not only within the party, but among the masses as well. The newly elected legislators passed a resolution, thanking the people for extending them support.

“We told senior legislators, some of whom are five-timers or six-timers, to assist and guide the seven legislators who have been elected for the first time,” Dhumal said. He added that the BJP would discharge the duty of a responsible Opposition, entrusted to it by the people.

The BJP will introspect the reasons for the defeat during a meeting of all 68 candidates and office-bearers later this week. The meeting is expected to be fiery as the rival Dhumal and Shanta Kumar factions are likely to indulge in a blame game and hold each other responsible for the defeat.

While the Dhumal camp is gunning for Shanta, holding him directly responsible for the drubbing in Kangra district, Shanta loyalists are likely to corner the outgoing Chief Minister and his son Anurag Thakur. “We will take action against rebels and those who damaged the prospects of party candidates after the meeting,” Satti said.

Mandi, December 24
The ball has been set rolling for the second round of the electoral battle between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

With Virbhadra Singh being sworn in as the Chief Minister tomorrow, the Mandi Lok Sabha seat is set to go to the polls. The by-election is likely to be held in June next. It is crucial for the Congress to retain the seat in the run-up to the general election in 2014.

The names of Kaul Singh Thakur, former state Congress president, and Pratibha Singh, former Member of Parliament from Mandi and Virbhadra Singh’s wife, are doing the rounds. The name of Amitpal Singh, Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, who is from Mandi, is also being mentioned.

Two names, those of former Rural Development Minister Jai Ram Thakur and former Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Ajay Rana, are doing the rounds in the BJP.

Congress workers say Kaul Singh is the strongest choice. They say winning the election will also give him the chance to assert his claim to the post of Chief Minister in the time to come.

They add that it will also remove the tag of confining himself to Darang Assembly constituency. In 1999, Kaul Singh lost to Maheshwar Singh of the BJP by over 2 lakh votes.

Sukh Ram, three-time Member of Parliament from Mandi, has already announced his retirement from electoral politics. His son Anil Sharma, a minister in the Virbhadra Singh ministry in 1996 and four-time legislator from Mandi, is also being mentioned as the Congress can gain from Sukh Ram’s clout.

It is crucial for the BJP to make a comeback in the Lok Sabha constituency. It lost 10 of the 16 Assembly seats, mainly due to the swing triggered by Virbhadra Singh’s presence. He had won from this Lok Sabha constituency in 1971, 1980 and 2009.

Shimla, December 24
Chief Minister designate Virbhadra Singh, who led the party to victory in the Assembly polls, got a major morale booster today ahead of his coronation as Chief Minister when the special court acquitted him in the controversial audio CD case which had almost eclipsed his political career six months ago.

Charges were framed against him on June 25 and he resigned the very next day. It seemed end of the road for him as with the tag of tainted leader he was unlikely to be given any further role in the state politics. More so because his detractors in the party had been working overtime to see his exit from the scene.

However, the indomitable Raja from the erstwhile state of Rampur Bushair fought his way back. By holding a series of “show of strength”, he not only forced the high command to hand over the reins of the party to him, but also make him the main campaigner.

A beaming Virbhadra Singh said, “The verdict has vindicated my stand that it was a politically motivated case framed by the Dhumal government to damage my reputation and undermine my political career. It was for this reason that I opted to face trial in the lower court as I wanted my name to be cleared. I could have gone to the high court and fought a protracted legal battle up to of the Supreme Court”.

Now, having got a clean chit from the court, he will take oath for the sixth time on a high moral ground and without the tag of being a tainted leader.

It is not for the first time that Virbhadra has come out clean after facing corruption charges. He was booked in the Sagar Katha case during the earlier term of Dhumal in 1999, but the case could not stand judicial scrutiny.

Coming close on the heels of victory in the latest political battle, the court verdict has again has proved that the “Raja” he can be down, but never out. His latest is the latest, but he has weathered such onslaughts in the past and has come out unscathed. He has fought his political rivals within and outside the Congress on the strength of the tremendous sway he holds over the masses.

Shimla, December 24
Put on hold due to Assembly elections, the process of organisational elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be resumed now so that the election of the state BJP President can be held by January 15.

Thavar Chand Gehlot, national general secretary of the BJP and election officer for organisational elections, said here today that the process would be resumed by next week.

“Though the entire process takes about two months, the elections can be over by January 15 as the task of making primary members is over,” he said.

Gehlot said Chander Mohan Thakur, state BJP general secretary, had been appointed the state election officer for the smooth conduct of party elections.

He said the process of organisational elections in the state had to be put on hold due to Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

State BJP chief Sat Pal Singh Satti said 1.75 lakh new members had been enrolled under a special campaign, in addition to the 3 lakh primary members already.

“The task of verification of primary members is complete. We will be able to resume the election process by next week,” Satti said. Gehlot said the party normally set a target of 20 per cent increase in membership.

Nahan, December 24
Sirmaur district may be one of the backward districts of the state, but voters have shown political awareness by voting against all five sitting legislators.

Comprising five constituencies, the district has been a Congress bastion, with the party winning four seats in the 2009 Vidhan Sabha elections.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made inroads in this district under the leadership of state BJP general secretary and former Health and Ayurveda Minister Rajeev Bindal.

This has helped the party increase its tally from one to three, winning from Nahan, Shillai and Pacchad, and reduce the losing margins considerably in Renuka and Paonta Sahib constituencies.

Congress candidate Vinay Kumar won from Renuka by a slender margin of 655 votes. Congress rebel Kirnesh Jung won from Paonta Sahib, with the party nominee finishing a poor third.

Voters opted for fresh faces in all five constituencies. They voted against six-time legislator Gangu Ram Musafir from Pacchad, five-time legislator Kush Parmar from Nahan, four-time legislator Harshwardhan from Shillai, two-time legislator Sukh Ram from Paonta Sahib and even the legislator with only a one-year stint, Hriday Ram from Renuka.

A three-time legislator from Solan, Bindal won from Nahan even though he was contesting from there for the first time after Solan was reserved in delimitation.

Candidates who had been contesting against the other legislators won the favour of voters this time. They are Baldev Tomar from Shillai, Suresh Kashyap from Pacchad, Kirnesh Jung from Paonta Sahib and Vinay Kumar from Renuka.

According to political observers, the lack of development despite long stints of the legislators had disheartened voters and the aggressive campaigning of the BJP helped it establish a firm foothold in the district.

The district was the centre of political activity of the BJP. Rallies to garner votes were addressed by its national president Nitin Gadkari and former president Rajnath Singh. For the Congress, only its state president Virbhadra Singh had campaigned, but no Central leader did so.

Mandi/Kullu, December 24
The outgoing BJP had fielded 23 new faces, but as many as 18 lost the elections.

But the Congress performed better on this bold new experiment: It had also fielded 20 new faces out of which nine emerged winners, while 11 others bit the dust in the battle of the ballot this time.

By fielding new candidates, both the BJP and the Congress tried not only to marginalise the anti-incumbency against the sitting MLAs, but they also aimed the move to channelise its new generation of leadership to keep pace with state’s over 60 young electorate spread across the 68 constituencies.

Congress first-timers did well as compared with the BJP’s new faces. The Congress’ nine candidates who won the elections are Ravi Thakur (Lahaul-Spiti), Dhani Ram Shandil (Solan), Ram Kumar Chaudhary (Doon), Inder Lakhanpal (Badsar), Anirudh (Kasumpti) Mohan Lal (Rohru), Khub Ram (Anni), Yadvinder Goma (Jaisinghpur) and Kishorilal (Baijnath).

The BJP had fielded 23 new faces, but only five candidates of Nachan, Churah, Nalagarh, Bhatiyat, Pachhad and Nalagarh won, giving a major setback to the party’s bold “tryst with newcomers” to beat the anti-incumbency.

Most of the new faces, who lost the poll, represented the Shanta Kumar faction and the others belonged to the Dhumal faction.

All five Independents, Balbir Verma (Chopal), Karnesh Jung (Paonta Sahib), Rajinder Rana (Sultanpur), Manohar Dhiman (Indora) and Pawan Kajal (Kangra), are first-timers and rode on individual appeal beating old-timers.

Jung was a Congress rebel, but Balbir was a lone Independent crusader who took anti-incumbency against two-time Congress MLA Subhash Manglet and won. All others were BJP rebels.

Both the parties also had roped in their rebels and fielded them on different seats. The Congress roped in Mansa Ram, who had fought 2007 elections on BJP ticket, and fielded him from Karsog and he won.

The Congress also fielded Karan Singh, who had deserted the BJP in the last Lok Sabha elections, from Banjar against Khimi Ram, Forest Minister, and won. Earlier, the BJP roped in Gulab Singh Thakur, who had left the Congress in 1998, and won the election second time on BJP ticket.

The BJP clicked it right shifting controversial Health Minister Rajeev Bindal from Solan to Nahan and he won.

IPH Minister Ravinder Ravi also won from Indora after he was shifted from his defunct constituency.

Panchkula, December 24
In a new twist to the Jyoti murder case, newly elected Doon legislator Ram Kumar Chaudhary moved a bail application in a local court here today. The decision for the bail application was kept for December 26.

“Chaudhary has moved a bail plea in court. This fact came to the fore today when the police received a notice,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Virender Sangwan.

In the bail plea, Chaudhary stated that a friend in his village knew Jyoti. He also stated that he offered her a lift when both of them were travelling together and she had asked both of them to attend her sister’s wedding.

Regarding his arrest, Sangwan said, “We are keeping a close watch on him.” Mobile phone SIM card dealer Ashish, who was produced in court today at the end of the remand period, was sent to judicial custody.

Kangra, December 24
Students of MCM DAV College, Kangra, local Government Senior Secondary School and Guru Dronacharya Nursing College, Yol, resorted to protests and candlelight marches today to show solidarity with the Delhi gang rape victim and demanded death penalty for the rapists.

The protesting girls, carrying placards, raised slogans “We want justice” and “Rapists be hanged”, gathered at the local municipal stadium and later took out a candlelight march through the main market, reached the Tehsil Chowk and then proceeded down the Dharamsala Road and New Bus Stand areas before it culminated at the sports stadium.

At the bus stand Ashok Kumar of Vivekananda Kendra, a spiritually oriented service mission, stressed on reviving the lost cultural and moral values in society. He stressed on parents to take steps to bring their children close to their cultural ethos and religious roots to weed out crime against women.

Nursing students wore black badges. Monika Sharma, Principal of the nursing college, said nurses and paramedical students supported the protestors of Delhi demanding capital punishment to the rapists. They held demonstrations and prayed for the safe recovery of the rape victim who was fighting for life in a Delhi hospital, Monika added.

Manali: Braving cold conditions of Manali, hundreds of women, including members of mahila mandals, from dozens of surrounding villages, took out a massive protest march on the Mall Road today and demanded justice for the gang rape victim in Delhi.

While some of the women requested people to change the way they saw women, others asked men to pay respect to woman who has given birth to mankind. They also handed over a memorandum to the SDM, Manali, and the SHO, Manali police station.

Mandi: Students, women and senior citizens, NGOs and common residents today took out a candlelight march protest against the heinous Delhi gang rape case.

They demanded that the accused should be hanged for this inhuman crime. They also demanded that the safety for women should be ensured in towns and cities especially at odd hours. 

Bilaspur, December 24
The sudden appearance of a bear in the Dhar Bhartha area of Kutehalla gram panchayat near Suharghat, 35 km from here, has created a scare among villagers and they have urged the district administration and forest officials to catch this bear and carry it away to some zoo. They said this was for the first time that they were seeing a bear in this area.

Reports said a few days earlier some villagers had seen a bear, but it was quite far and when they tried to see it more clearly, it disappeared into the jungle.

But yesterday a number of villagers were witness to having seen it from very close quarters when they heard furious growls of a bear as it was hotly chasing and trying to catch pet dogs of Vidya Sagar. They all raised shouts to save the pets and the bear was finally scared away from the area.

Villagers Vidya Sagar, Sunita Devi, Lal Singh, Kamla Devi, Mahanti Devi, Sita Devi, Meena Dervi and Jamna Devi said this furious animal could certainly cause injuries to their cattle, pets and even children and women. They said it must be located and trapped to be carried away to a zoo so that they are safe.