Virbhadra, Anand Sharma to campaign for Himachal bypoll

Virbhadra, Anand Sharma to campaign for Himachal bypollShimla, Oct 19 - Union ministers Virbhadra Singh and Anand Sharma will campaign for the Himachal Pradesh by-elections slated for Nov 7, a Congress leader said Monday.

"Virbhadra Singh and Anand Sharma are members of the state campaign committee for by-elections to the Rohru and Jawali constituencies. They will campaign extensively in both the constituencies," state Congress president Kaul Singh Thakur told IANS.

He said former ministers Vidya Stokes, G. S. Bali and Asha Kumari and former MPs Chander Kumar and Dhani Ram Shandil are also members of the campaign committee.

The main contest on both the seats is between the state's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.

Rohru and Jawali seats fell vacant after Virbhadra Singh and Sushant won the Lok Sabha elections in May.

The Congress has fielded Manjit Singh Thakur and former minister Sujan Singh Pathania from Rohru and Jawali, respectively, against BJP's Khushi Ram Balnatah and Baldev Raj Chaudhary.

The Congress had won Rohru in the 2007 assembly elections, while the BJP got the Jawali seat. (IANS)