With ticket again going to a ‘newcomer’ Anita Rana, wife of Hamirpur Congress nominee for lok Sabha Rajendra Rana, the Congress has apparently once again come under the grip of factionalism in the BJP stronghold district, as senior leaders stayed away from her nomination on Saturday.
The renewed factionalism ahead of the lS polls in the State is likely to damage the prospects of the Congress in Himachal. Anita Rana’s ticket was declared by the party on Friday, the penultimate day of filing of nomination papers after the central leadership failed to arrive at a conclusion resulting in delay. According to sources, Anita Rana was given ticket by the central leadership on the backing of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, while the state leadership was backing the candidature of former cabinet minister Anita Verma.
State unit of the party was favouring ticket for the person with organisational background but Chief Minister backed the parameter of win-ability citing emphatic win of Anita Rana’s husband Rajendra Rana in 2012- Assembly elections from the seat.
On Friday evening when the ticket of Anita Rana was declared, Sujanpur unit of Congress conveyed their displeasure to the state leadership and decided to hold a meeting of office bearers to chalk out the future course of strategy.
The rift became clearly evident on Saturday, when Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and ticket probable former legislator Kuldeep Pathania did not join the gathering for the filing of nomination papers of Anita Rana, despite being in the city.
Anita Rana was however accompanied by BJP rebel Urmil Thakur, who recently joined Congress after being denied ticket by the party and Anita Verma, who was also a ticket probable for the seat. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s son and youth Congress president Vikramaditya Singh was also present on the occasion.
Unlike other nomination paper filing of candidates, Anita Rana’s nomination paper filing remained a low key affair for the party with around 100 supporters, who kept shouting slogans in favour of Congress.
When contacted, Sukhu said that he was in Nadaun his home constituency to canvass for the party’s lok Sabha candidate Rajendra Rana and it was his pre-engagement and therefore was unable to attend the nomination paper filing of Anita Rana.