SHIMLA: Congress workers from two warring factions, led by former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and former PCC chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, clashed at the state party office here on Thursday shortly after the party's newly appointed state president Kuldeep Singh Rathore arrived to assume charge. In the clash, a party worker suffered a head injury and was taken to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, for treatment.Interestingly, when the supporters from Congress's rival factions clashed, even flinging chairs at each other, senior party leaders, including AICC incharge for state Rajni Patil, Virbhadra and Sukhu were present on dais along with Rathore.Sukhu, who had skipped the party rally at Chaura Maidan earlier in the day as he had gone to the IGMCH for a medical check up, reached the party office when Rathore was to take charge. As his supporters started raising slogans, Virbhadra's supporters too started doing the same. Soon after, sloganeering gave way to a brawl and then a full-fledged clash, with chairs being swung in the air.Clearly unhappy with the incident, just when he was about to formally assume the PCC chief's office, Rathore warned that he would not tolerate such behaviour in future. The clash inside party office has raised a big question mark on Rathore's claims of putting up a united show to win all four parliamentary seats of HP in the coming general elections.Patil said the party high command has taken a serious view of this. She said that Sukhu had requested to relinquish the post of state president few months back and that the party would move forward under the leadership of Rathore.

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