Himachal Congress busy with infighting as High Command looks the other way

As the Indian National Congress's 'High Command' focus on crucial upcoming Assembly elections in bigger states, the party's leadership in Himachal Pradesh are busy squabbling over petty issues. The drubbing in the state polls barely three months ago has had no sobering effect on the party's factionalism.

Cadres feel it is high time the leaders pull up their socks and start gearing up for the forthcoming parliamentary polls. But former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and HP Congress Committee chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu continue to run each other down and exchange barbs on every possible occasion. 

In a bid to get its act together, the party recently organised a state-level conference in Mandi and launched a campaign seeking accountability from sitting Lok Sabha members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The venue was significant as the party had scored a big zero in the district, which was once its stronghold and sends 10 legislators to the Assembly.

But this effort was marred by the absence of Virbhadra and most of his supporters and his son Vikramaditya Singh. 

The Congress Legislative Party's (CLP) Mukesh Agnihotri and the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for the state Ranjeet Ranjan though attended. Sukhu claimed Virbhadra was invoted.

The Mandi chapter followed an exchange of barbs between Sukhu and Virbhadra barely 10 days ago. The former royal has been consistently demanding that Sukhu be replaced, claiming the party wouldn't win the parliamentary polls under his leadership. 

Sukhu, on his part, had called Virbhadra a liar and pointed out that the suffered a terrible defeat in the recent assembly poll under Virbhadra. According to him, 56 of the 68 tickets for the 2017 Assembly polls were given on Virbhadra's recommendations. Only 15 of those candidates sailed through; on the other hand, six of the 12 candidates approved by the party organisation won. 

Virbhadra's detractors have been blaming his ego for the departure of senior Congress leaders like Anil Sharma and Vijay Singh Mankotia. They don't fail to point out that the former CM decided all candidates for the 2014 parliamentary polls and the party couldn't win a single seat in the state.

“Both these leaders have own goals to achieve. It is a fact that the Virbhadra era is over and he is on the verge of retirement but he wants to capture the ground for his son. His entire effort is that his son either becomes the state unit chief or an AICC general secretary at the earliest. But everyone knows the culture of the Congress where things move by just an inch after long intervals,” said a party insider.

He further disclosed that Sukhu, on the other hand, is keen to prolong his stint. “If he manages to remain the PCC chief till the forthcoming parliamentary polls, it would be a big achievement for him,” he added.

Some sources said Sukhu's tenure has been marked by the party organisation being strengthened at the grassroots and Virbhadra's sheer desperation has brought the party to this point. According to them, Vikramaditya has had no major achievement and several Congress workers are annoyed at the dynastic trend.

As of now, the field lies wide open for a strong leadership to emerge in the state. Mukesh Agnihotri, a four-time election winner, was one evident choice as CLP leader. Party heavyweight Asha Kumari would have been an obvious choice but for the episode of her slapping a policewoman. 

As the party brass grapples with preparing for elections in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and the Lok Sabha, no one seems to be bothered about what is happening in the Himalayan state. The mice, as they, continue to play while the cat is away.