RS Bali reluctant to contest Lok Sabha poll from Kangra, writes to Congress chief

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, April 21

The Congress MLA from Nagrota Bagwan, RS Bali, is reluctant to contest the Lok Sabha poll from the Kangra parliamentary constituency. This comes amid reports that many Congress leaders from the state are shying away from contesting the parliamentary elections.

Wants to work for Nagrota Bagwan

• RS Bali’s name for Congress ticket for the Kangra Lok Sabha seat came up in a party survey that indicated he had the maximum chances of winning
• Bali has written a letter to Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge showing his reluctance to contest the Lok Sabha elections
• He stated that he was elected MLA from the Nagrota Bagwan Assembly constituency of his father GS Bali for the first time by a record margin of votes
• His father had been four-time MLA from Nagrota Bagwan and he wanted to work for its development by staying in the state

Sources said that Bali’s name for Congress ticket from Kangra came up in a party survey that indicated he had the maximum chances of winning among the probable candidates. But Bali had written a letter to Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge showing his reluctance to contest.

Bali had stated that he was elected MLA from the Nagrota Bagwan Assembly constituency of his father GS Bali for the first time by a record margin of votes. He was appointed Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and he had worked tirelessly to promote tourism in the state, having lined up many developmental projects. “If I get out of the state as an MP, most of these projects — for which I had worked in the past year — will be derailed,” he stated in his letter.

Bali said that he had personal reasons also for not contesting the Lok Sabha poll. “I have lost both my father and mother in the past two years and it has brought the responsibilities of the family and nurturing the Assembly constituency on me. My father had remained MLA from Nagrota Bagwan consecutively for four times. I will like to carry forward the fight of my father by staying in the state rather than moving to the Centre by contesting the Lok Sabha poll,” he said in his letter.

With Bali showing reluctance, the Congress is left with fewer options for the Kangra parliamentary seat. Asha Kumari, former minister, seems to be the frontrunner for the party ticket from Kangra though a section of Congress leaders is opposing her candidature on the plea that she belongs to Chamba district and not Kangra.

Earlier, Aastha Agnihotri, daughter of Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, had said no to contesting the Lok Sabha poll from the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency. She had also cited the death of her mother recently for it while thanking the party high command for considering her name.

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