Won't contest Lok Sabha elections anymore: Former Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh

Singh also claimed that despite his repeated warnings, tickets were distributed to candidates who had no scope of winning in state Assembly elections.

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SHIMLA: Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Friday declared that he won't contest Lok Sabha elections any further. The 84-year-old also lashed out at his own party leadership in the state, holding them responsible for Congress' debacle in Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections in 2017.

Singh claimed that despite his repeated warnings, tickets were distributed to candidates who had no scope of winning. 

The six-time CM of Himachal Pradesh, however, refuted all rumours of rift within the party. 

He blamed the state cricket association for the cases against him, calling it a "political vendetta".

"I was targeted because as CM I had gone after exposing the undue favours extended to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association by (former CM) Prem Kumar Dhumal during his tenure. Dhumal had extended favours because his son (Anurag Thakur) was at the helm of cricketing affairs of the body," he added.

Further, he claimed that the "Modi wave" has faded and in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, people will vote on the issues concerning the nation.

"Modi wave has faded. Moreover, the wave does not always persist. People will not vote in the next (Lok Sabha) elections on any personality, but on issues," the veteran Congress leader said in a news conference here.