Virbhadra Singh: Will he be 7th time lucky

On the campaign trail to win the hill state for the Congress and get a seventh term as chief minister, Virbhadra Singh, 83, has already acknowledged that the battle with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be tough. The longest-serving and six-time Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Singh would look to stem the anti-incumbency trend that has seen the hill state change hands every five years, except in 1985.

The polls, which will take place on 9 November, will be fought on several fronts, and the major parties are already trading barbs over issues ranging from employment to the menace of the mining mafia.

Singh has chosen to contest from Arki after declaring that he would fight for a seat that is held by the BJP as he attempts to prove that he still wields the most influence in the state.

The Virbhadra Singh-led state government has undertaken a lot of projects in the past five years which will play a major role in these polls.

Singh previously served as CM from 1983 to 1990, from 1993 to 1998, from 2003 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2017. Born on June 23, 1934, at Sarahan in Shimla district, Singh completed his BA (Honours) from Delhi's St. Stephen's College.

Singh came to the limelight when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made him the deputy Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation in 1976.

The CM has four daughters and a son - Vikramaditya Singh, who is set to make his political debut this year and contest the November 9 assembly elections from Shimla (Rural).

Himachal Pradesh will vote in a single phase on November 9 and votes will be counted on December 18 along with Gujarat

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