Virbhadra sees 50 yrs in politics as fulfilling

His supporters have planned a rally in Shimla on June 23 to mark the completion of Singh's five decades in active politics in May this year. The event is important as the state is scheduled to go to polls later this year and Singh with his mass base can play an important role in to play to bring Congress back to power there.

Singh had entered Lok Sabha for the first time in 1962 from Mahasu constituency when Himachal Pradesh was part of Punjab. There is no other member in the present Lok Sabha to have entered the lower House before him.

In his long career in politics, Singh has served as Chief Minister of HP five times in the past. Presently, he is Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the Manmohan Singh ministry. HP became a separate state in 1971.

The senior Congress leader thanked his party for reposing faith in him for so long, saying, "I have faced many challenges during the last 50 years in politics and I look upon my long stint as a fulfilling experience."

"I have always been a loyal soldier of Congress and worked sincerely on whatever responsibility the party has entrusted me with," Singh, the sixth term MP from Mandi constituency, told PTI.

He said now his desire is to see that the "corrupt" BJP government is dislodged in the coming Assembly polls in HP and Congress returns to power to carry out the development work for the poor.