Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Breaking its tradition of not allowing a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) to contest an Assembly Election, the Congress on Saturday gave green light to Virbhadra Singh for contesting the upcoming polls.
Himachal Pradesh Congress president and former Union minister Virbhadra Singh will contest from Shimla (Rural).
A meeting of the party's Central Election Committee headed by Sonia Gandhi had to decide on the nominations for the 68-member Assembly in the state.
While Congress has finalised candidates for 49 seats, the final list of all the candidates will be released by evening, as per reports.
A meeting of the State Election Committee headed by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was held here yesterday and a meeting of the Central Scrutiny Committee was held today, where prominent leaders from the state, including PCC president Virbhadra Singh, and the party's incharge of Himachal Affairs Birender Singh were present.
Various leaders from the state have reportedly evolved a consensus on candidates for 45 Assembly seats, including 19 sitting MLAs, sources said. More names are likely to be cleared soon after discussions among state leaders.
Congress is seeking to oust the BJP government headed by Prem Kumar Dhumal.
(With PTI Inputs)
First Published: Saturday, October 6, 2012, 09:35
