Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore on Thursday said the victory in bypolls in the state will strengthen the party ahead of 2022 assembly elections and it is the right time to teach a lesson to the government for not fulfilling poll promises. Addressing party workers after filing of nomination papers by party candidate from Arki assembly segment Sanjay Awasthi, Rathore said the state government had failed on all fronts be it price rise, unemployment or issues related to farmers and horticulturalists. The price rise has made it tough for the common man to make both ends meet as the prices of essential commodities, LPG and petroleum products have reached record high. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot(`/96277396/single-article-ad-new`, [300, 250], `div-gpt-ad-1616332879619-0`).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.enableServices(); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(`div-gpt-ad-1616332879619-0`); }); Besides, the state government is giving jobs to outsiders while we all know about the plight of farmers who were staging protests in support of their demands on roads for the last 10 months,” he added. He stated that the Arki assembly constituency was quite important for the party as it was represented by six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. “We are all saddened by the death of senior party leader Virbhadra Singh and we have to work unitedly to ensure that the party retains the seat again,” he said. He tried to placate the dissidents from the assembly segment and stated that they were all the members of Congress family and efforts will be made to redress their issues as it was their right to express their grievances. He urged the party workers to work unitedly to ensure Awasthi’s win in the bypolls. Congress party candidate from the assembly segment Sanjay Awasthi assured party workers that he will take everyone along in the bypolls and after winning elections. “My only objective is to fulfill the dreams of former CM Virbhadra Singh in the constituency,” he added.

Stay updated with all the Latest Shimla headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.