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CPI(M) refuses to back Congress

Staff Correspondent

SHIMLA: Two CPI (M) members, who were elected to the Zila Parishad in Mandi district, have dented the Congress move to instal its candidate for the coveted post of Chairman.

The Congress, which was taking the Left support for granted, had even offered the post of Vice-Chairman to the CPI (M) in a House of 36 members. The Congress and the BJP have strength of 17 members each.

The CPI (M) had insisted that the Congress Government take back the 1,032 workers of the Public Works Department who were retrenched in Dharampur sub-division before taking their support.

Having failed in its efforts, the Congress is now trying to woo some of the members from the BJP camp. The elections have now been postponed for next Monday.

The Congress-supported candidates have however won the Shimla and Sirmaur Zila Parishad chairmanships. The BJP has comfortably won the Hamirpur Zila Parishad chairmanship and vice-chairmanship. The quorum could not be completed in Kullu, Solan, Bilaspur, Kangra and Una districts according to reports reaching here. Meanwhile, the State BJP president, Suresh Bhardwaj, claimed that his party had won 106 seats in the Parishad elections and the Congress Government had postponed the elections after anticipating defeat in four more districts.

However, Transport Minister G.S. Bali and Chander Kumar, MP, claimed that the Congress had won a majority of the seats in the Panchayat elections and would defeat the opposition in the Zila Parishad elections as well.

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CPI(M) refuses to back Congress

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