Sonia to address public meetings in Himachal ahead of polls

SHIMLA, Aug 29: Congress President Sonia Gandhi will address a series of public meetings in Himachal Pradesh in September in the run-up to the Assembly polls scheduled in November.
HPCC President Kaul Singh Thakur was replaced as a part of the larger poll strategy of the party and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh has been appointed the new president to bring Congress back to power in the poll-bound state, AICC general secretary and in-charge of Himachal Pradesh, Chowdhary Barinder Singh told reporters here.
A five-time chief minister, V B Singh was the tallest Congress leader in the state and “he can contest elections, if he so desires”, Chowdhary said in reply to a question.
Singh had yesterday told reporters in New Delhi that he would contest the Assembly elections. “I will keep contesting the elections, either the assembly or the Lok Sabha, as my life is dedicated to the service of the people”, he said.
Singh (78) resigned as micro, small and medium enterprises minister from the Manmohan Singh’s cabinet on June 26 in the wake of a Shimla court ruling in a 23-year-old corruption case. (PTI)