The Congress party has so far announced the names of 82 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls whereas its main competitor BJP has fielded over 260 names. This shows that the BJP is comparatively well prepared for the Lok Sabha polls. Both the parties are likely to come up with their next candidate list in a day or two but it seems that trouble for Congress is not going to end soon. In a fresh setback for the grand old party, Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh announced not to contest the polls. However, the reason cited by her for opting out of the polls gave the BJP a chance to fire a fresh salvo at the Congress.  


Pratibha Singh's Reality Check For Congress?


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While Pratibha Singh opting out of the Lok Sabha race was a jolt to the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, her reason for withdrawal was even a greater setback for the party. Singh, who is also the state party chief and current MP from Mandi, claimed that the ground situation was 'not favourable' and Congress workers were disheartened. Singh said, "I have toured the state extensively and found that no worker is active and in such a situation, it is difficult to achieve success.... You cannot win polls just by distributing MPLAD funds." By claiming an unfavourable ground situation in a state that is ruled by the Congress, Singh has given a reality check to her party.


BJP Fires Fresh Salvo


Soon after Pratibha Singh opted out of the Lok Sabha race, BJP leader and former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur claimed that the Congress is not getting candidates and every big leader is avoiding the elections. The Leader Of the Opposition in the Himachal assembly said that the big leaders of Congress are shying away from entering the fray and even the sitting MPs are not willing to contest. He said that people are impressed by the public-friendly policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 


Senior Congress Leaders Out Of Race


The BJP got the opportunity to target Congress because many senior party leaders are not contesting the Lok Sabha polls this time. It includes Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot, Harish Rawat, Bhoopinder Hooda and Ajay Maken are not in the race of the Lok Sabha polls. Leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Kharge and Maken have already taken the Rajya Sabha route of Parliament and those who are sitting MLAs are not keen on taking any risk by contesting the Lok Sabha polls.