Ram Lal prepared to contest Hamirpur Lok Sabha polls

Shimla, May 4 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Forest Minister Ram Lal Thakur today expressed his willingness to contest Lok Sabha by-polls from Hamirpur constituency.

''If the party high command tells me to contest, I am prepared to contest the Hamirpur Lok Sabha by-poll. I am not like some other leaders who are shying away from contesting the poll,'' he told reporters here.

Taking a dig at the senior BJP leaders who had ruled themselves out from the contest, Mr Thakur said he had contested from the Hamirpur twice earlier and had lost by a slender margin last time.

''This time, if I contest again, the tide will be on my side and I will defeat the rival by a big margin,'' he said.

The minister said he was not running away from the battlefield like some other leaders.

UNI