Shimla: Two old war horses of the Congress — former chief minister Virbhadera Singh (85) and former Union minister Sukh Ram (92) — joining hands has made the electoral battle for Mandi parliamentary seat an interesting one.While Congress’s campaign will be spearheaded by Sukh Ram and Virbhadra, the BJP campaign will be led by chief minister Jai Ram Thakur. This is for the first time that candidates of both parties belong to Mandi district and are Brahmins. Mandi has traditionally remained a royal seat, but their presence this time would be visible only in campaigning.Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Kuldeep Singh Rathore said that party had been strengthened with the coming together of Sukh Ram and Virbhadra. He claimed that both would campaign together for the party.Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur has downplayed the reunion of Congress leaders by claiming that it would not impact the BJP’s chances. Addressing a youth convention of BJP in Shillai area of Sirmaur district on Sunday, he said BJP was going to win all four parliamentary seats of Himachal Pradesh. He said Congress leaders were afraid of losing elections due to which the party had not been able to declare candidates from all four seats.In 2017 assembly elections, Congress had failed to open its account in Mandi district. Of the total 10 assembly seats, BJP had won nine and the last one, Jogindernagar, was won by an independent candidate. Many had attributed this dismal performance of Congress to the defection of Sukh Ram and family to BJP.Of the 17 parliamentary elections held so far since 1952, Mandi has traditionally remained a seat for candidates from royal families who have won elections from here 12 times. Now, political equations have changed in Mandi parliamentary seat with the coming together of Sukh Ram and Virbhadra Singh. Both have represented this Lok Sabha seat three times each. While Virbhadra Singh has remained Lok Sabha member from Mandi in 1971, 1980 and 2009, Sukh Ram has represented it in 1984, 1991 and 1996.This time, the Congress has given the ticket to Sukh Ram’s grandson Aashray Sharma, while BJP has once again fielded its sitting MP Ram Swaroop Sharma. For Thakur, winning Mandi will be a matter of prestige as this is the first time that the state has a chief minister from Mandi district. Virbhadra Singh and Sukh Ram too are facing the challenge of proving that they still have a clout over voters in the constituency.BJP state president Satpal Singh Satti said infighting in the Congress would itself destroy the party. He said in Mandi seat, despite their joining hands, rivalry between Sukh Ram and Virbhadra would damage the party, while the ongoing tussle between Sudhir Sharma, G S Bali and Pawan Kajal will ruin it in Kangra seat. He said the fierce battle of supremacy between Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri, former state president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Sujanpur MLA Rajinder Rana in Hamirpur parliamentary seat had also put a big question mark on the existence of party.

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