Candidates for LS polls, assembly by-elections to be named after CEC meeting: HP CM

Shimla, Apr 13 (PTI) Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said names of the candidates for the Lok Sabha and assembly bypolls in Himachal Pradesh will be announced after the CEC meeting in Delhi on Saturday.The Central Election Committee (CEC) chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to meet at 4 pm.

The names would be announced after the discussion, Sukhu said while interacting with the media persons at Kangra airport before leaving for Delhi this morning.

The Congress will discuss names of candidates for four Lok Sabha parliamentary constituencies and six assembly by-elections seats

Sitting Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, who is the son of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, is the frontrunner for Congress ticket from Mandi Lok Sabha seat.

Former MLA Satpal Singh Raizada is the frontrunner from Hamirpur and former minister Asha Kumari from Kangra while name of sitting MLA from Kasauli Vinod Sultanpuri is being considered from Shimla Parliament seat besides others, Congress leaders said.

The BJP has already declared its candidates for the Lok Sabha and assembly bypolls. The party renominated Union Information and Broadcast minister Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur and sitting member Suresh Kashyap from Shimla (SC) constituency.

Bollywood actor Kangna Ranaut has been named as the BJP candidate from the Mandi parliamentary seat while Dr Rajeev Bharadwaj, presently vice president of state BJP, is contesting from Kangra.

All the six Congress rebels who had voted in favour of BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in Rajya Sabha polls held on February 27 have been given tickets from their respective assembly seats.

The BJP nominated Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul and Spiti, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal from Barsar, Chetanya Sharma from Gagret and Devinder Kumar Bhutto from Kutlehar.

These six Congress MLAs were disqualified by the speaker for defying a whip to be present in the house and vote in favour of the government during the cut motions and budget. Later, they joined the BJP.

The elections would be held for all four seats for the Lok Sabha poll and six assembly bypolls in the seventh and last phase on June 1.