Cong seeks to placate Virbhadra

The Congress today sought to placate Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who withdrew from the assembly poll contest demanding that the state party unit issues are resolved.
Singh, who is camping in Delhi since yesterday, however, did not get time from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, whom he wants to meet to air his grievance.
Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel today met Singh and sought to mollify him in the face of an impending crisis in Himachal Pradesh ahead of assembly elections slated a few months later.
Sources said that Singh met Patel at his residence for half an hour.

Last week, the six-time chief minister told a number of Congress legislators in Himachal Pradesh that he would neither contest polls nor lead the party if the present set up in the party's state unit led by PCC chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu did not change.
It may be recalled that Singh was made the PCC chief in 2012 ahead of the state assembly polls replacing Kaul Singh Thakur and Singh is now again seeking removal of Sukhu.

The Congress, which is caught up in a piquant situation is trying to win over Singh while also keeping the party together and united ahead of assembly elections.

The party does not want things to deteriorate further that could hamper the party's prospects at the hustings.
Virbhadra Singh, who led the party to success in the last elections, is the party's best bet to lead it in this election even though it faces an uphill task from the BJP which is raring to reclaim the state in the midst of recent poll victories.
With party vice president Rahul Gandhi away to Norway, the matter may well be resolved only after his return, the sources say.