Himachal CM to tour BJP stronghold

Eyeing to woo voters in the BJP’s pocket borough ahead of the general elections, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is to tour the Hamirpur constituency next week, an official said Thursday.

Since assuming power last December, this will be Virbhadra Singh’s maiden visit to the home district of former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The chief minister’s two-day tour to Hamirpur will begin Oct 27, his office here said.

He will hold progammes and address public rallies in four of the five assembly constituencies in Hamirpur district alone.

Legislator Rajinder Rana, who was recently inducted as an associate member in the Congress legislature party, has invited the chief minister for the annual function of the Sarva Kalyankari Sabha being organised in Sujanpur town, part of the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency now represented by BJP leader Anurag Thakur, Dhumal’s son.

“A massive public rally will be organised this time in Sujanpur during the visit of the chief minister,” Rana told IANS.

Besides laying foundation stones, Singh will also inaugurate Sainik Rest House at Sujanpur and Chowki-Chambot lift drinking water scheme constructed at a cost of Rs.6 crore.

On the first day, the chief minister will inaugurate Hamir Utsav in Hamirpur town, some 150 km from the state capital.

Official sources said the chief minister and his parliamentarian wife Pratibha Singh have already toured the remote Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts, part of the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, ahead of the onset of snowfall there.

-IANS