Surge in nominations on last day in Himachal

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Vidya Stokes to contest from Theog, confusion in Congress

As many as 275 candidates from various parties and Independents filed their nomination papers for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections on Monday, the last day for doing so. Thousands of supporters accompanied the candidates as they arrived to complete the formalities.

At last count, nearly 475 candidates have filed their papers for the 68 seats.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh accompanied his son Vikramaditya as the latter filed his papers from the Shimla Rural constituency on being allotted the party ticket late on Sunday evening. Mr. Singh and senior Minister Kaul Singh Thakur have defied the party’s “one family, one ticket” norm and managed to secure ticket for their children, despite opposition from a large section in the party.

Octogenarian leader Vidya Stokes also filed papers at the last moment from her traditional constituency of Theog, along with youth leader Deepak Rathore, who secured the party ticket straight from the All India Congress Committee. There is confusion among Congress cadres on who the official party nominee is.

BJP complaint

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday complained to the Chief Election Commissioner against some retired officers who were reappointed in government service, alleging that they are now working as agents for the Congress in the elections.

In its complaint, the BJP said more than 3,000 employees, including IAS and State services officers, who had been given extension in their services, were openly working for the Congress in the ongoing election campaign. BJP State president Satpal Satti demanded the immediate removal of retired IAS officer Subhash Ahluwalia as the Chief Minister’s media adviser.