Himachal Congress mulls fielding Pratibha, 2 other women in Lok Sabha elections
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Aims to cash in on rollout of ₹1,500 Pyari Behna Samman Nidhi scheme
TNR Desk
In the Himachal Pradesh Lok Sabha elections, the Congress is considering fielding three women candidates, a move expected to cash in on the party’s recent rollout of its promise of Rs providing 1,500 monthly grant to females aged 18 to 60 years.
The three potential candidates include Pratibha Singh from Mandi, who is the sitting MP as well as the Himachal Congress president, former minister Asha Kumari from Kangra and Dayal Pyari from Shimla. Pyari unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Assembly election from Pachhad constituency in Sirmaur district and lost to BJP candidate Reena Kashyap.
The names of the three women leaders are part of a panel to be presented before the Congress high command during a meeting scheduled in New Delhi on April 6.
A Congress leader said that by nominating women candidates from Kangra, Shimla and Mandi, the party was aiming to focus on the issue of the Rs 1,500 per month Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana. The Congress has already made it a poll plank citing how the BJP didn’t want the scheme to be rolled out and had approached the Election Commission against it.
Congress ministers, MLAs and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu himself are touring the state, highlighting the issue and labelling the BJP “anti-women”. The Congress also plans to emphasise concerns regarding inflation and women’s safety during the election campaign.
Another reason for fielding women candidates in three of the four constituencies could be the significant participation of women voters in the last three Lok Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh, with a turnout of 74 per cent in 2019.
Meanwhile, a faction within the Congress is pushing for a woman candidate to contest against Union Minister Anurag Thakur in Hamirpur parliamentary constituency. Pratibha Singh, the current MP from Mandi, stands as a strong contender for her party.
