Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service
Shimla, October 5
The Congress today formally announced its candidates for the Mandi Lok Sabha and the three Assembly seats where bypolls are to be conducted on October 30.
Pratibha Singh (65), wife of former CM Virbhadra Singh, will contest from Mandi. A two-time MP from the segment in 2004 and 2013, she is expected to give a tough fight to the BJP as she could bag sympathy votes on account of her husband's death in July. The Congress has fielded Rohit Thakur from Jubbal-Kotkhai (Shimla), Sanjay Awasthy from Arki (Solan) and Bhawani Singh Pathania from Fatehpur (Kangra).
In Arki, a seat that fell vacant after the demise of Virbhadra, the party has shown faith in Awasthy, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2012 Assembly poll.
Bhawani is the son of former Congress minister Sujan Singh Pathania, on whose demise the seat fell vacant. Here too, the party is hoping to cash in on the sympathy factor.
The Congress candidates are likely to file their nominations on October 8, which is the last date to file papers.
Assembly candidates
- Arki: Sanjay Awasthy
- Fatehpur: Bhawani Pathania
- Jubbal-Kotkhai: Rohit Thakur
