Himachal Calling Himachal:Modi,Sonia, Rahul face off to hit hill state

Shimla, April 27: After touring almost the entire country, Congress and

leaders now are eyeing at the hill state Himachal Pradesh which is going to poll on May 7. Leaving no stone unturned to woo voters, Congress President

, Vice President

and BJP PM nominee

are all set to hold massive election campaigning in the state.

Sonia Gandhi will address her first public meeting and canvass for the party candidates in Kullu town, some 250 km from Shimla.

A day before her visit, party Vice President Rahul Gandhi would address two public meetings - at Bilaspur and Solan towns. Modi will address three public rallies in the state on April 29.

While the first rally will be held in Palampur town, the remaining two will be held in Mandi and Solan towns, Bharatiya Janata Party state spokesperson Ganesh Dutt told reporters.

A total of 38 candidates will be in the fray for the four Lok Sabha seats

Palampur is part of the Kangra constituency from where former two-time BJP chief minister Shanta Kumar is in the fray. The Congress has fielded Chander Kumar, who defeated Shanta Kumar in 2004.

In the Mandi parliamentary constituency, BJP greenhorn Ram Swaroop Sharma is pitted against two-time MP Pratibha Singh, wife of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Solan is part of the Shimla (reserved) constituency, where BJP's sitting MP Virinder Kashyap is facing Congress' Mohan Lal Bragta. The BJP managed to win the Shimla seat, which was a known Congress bastion, for the first time in 2009.

Earlier, Modi held a public rally on February 16 in Sujanpur town, part of the Hamirpur constituency, the BJP's pocket borough, and Rahul Gandhi in Dharamsala town on March 20.

The Congress has pitched BJP rebel Rajinder Rana against BJP's sitting MP Anurag Thakur. A total of 38 candidates will be in the fray for the four Lok Sabha seats in the state.

OneIndia News
(With agency inputs)