Congress not getting candidates in Himachal, big leaders avoiding contest: Jai Ram Thakur

Shimla: Hours after Himachal Pradesh Congress chief and Mandi MP Pratibha Singh announced that she has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections as the ground situation was "not favourable", Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday said the Congress is not getting candidates and every big leader is avoiding the elections.

In a statement issued here, Thakur said the big leaders of all opposition parties, including the Congress, are shying away from entering the fray and even the sitting MPs are not willing to contest.

Impressed by the people-friendly policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, big and powerful leaders from across the country today want to join the BJP and many senior leaders have openly expressed their inability to contest the elections by making some excuse or the other, he said.

The former chief minister said the way Prime Minister Modi is getting immense public support and affection from every section of the country, defeat of the opposition is visible.

Announcing her decision not to contest the Lok Sabha elections, Pratibha Singh had earlier said, "I have withdrawn my name and conveyed to the (party) high command that I will not contest the elections and will fully support any candidate which the party central leaders consider suitable."

"I have toured the state extensively and found that no worker is active and in such a situation, it is difficult to achieve success... You cannot win polls just by distributing MPLAD funds," Singh, the wife of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and mother of Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, told reporters.

The shock announcement came at a time when the Congress government in the state is struggling to keep its house in order after six party rebels, along with three Independents, voted in favour of BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha elections last month.