Virbhadra Singh tries to fend off another volley of charges

A lone Virbhadra Singh, the five time chief minister of Himachal and Congress’ face in the state is faced with an uphill task - grabbing power for the sixth time even as he tries to fend off the latest charges against him.

After corruption allegations surfaced about his tenure as Steel minister, now questions are being raised about his assets and IT returns.

Singh had resigned a few months back from the Union cabinet after graft allegations were leveled by the BJP.

On his campaign trail, an angry 78-year-old Singh, snapped when the media questioned him repeatedly about his assets, subsequently however he attempted to apologise.

 

Nonetheless, the faction-ridden Himachal Congress has not seen any senior voices come out in support or defence of Singh, which is unusual as Singh is the sole face of the Congress in bid for power in the state.

While AICC incharge of Himachal Chaudhry Birendra Singh has maintained a studied silence, so has Congress legislature party leader in the state Vidya Stokes.

The lone voice that spoke up for Singh was newly appointed spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit, who claimed that amidst the grueling campaign, sometimes people lose their cool, but the party was not condoning the act.      

When Virbhadra Singh was asked about the resounding silence from the Congress, Singh attempted to deflect the issue by saying, “AICC spokesman has clarified on the issue. What else I want?" said Singh.

As Singh tries to live up to the challenge that he has set for himself, become CM for yet another time, he appears to be fighting a lonely battle with little support from even within (the party).