Congress appoints Virbhadra campaign committee chief for Himachal elections

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) Former union minister Virbhadra Singh, who resigned last month after corruption charges were framed against him by a court in Shimla, was Monday appointed chairman of Congress campaign committee for Himachal Pradesh for the assembly polls later this year.

The 24-member panel also includes union minister Anand Sharma and senior Congress leaders from the state including Kaul Singh Thakur, Vidya Stokes, Viplov Thakur, G. S. Bali, Col (retd) Dhani Ram Shandil and Sat Mahajan.

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has been made convenor of the campaign committee.

The appointments were approved by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The party also appointed 16 secretaries in the state.

Virbhadra Singh, a five-time chief minister, had earlier said his resignation from the union cabinet should not be seen as an admission of guilt and accused P.K. Dhumal-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Himachal Pradesh of hatching a conspiracy against him.

He had said that he would contest the case in the court and fight the BJP government politically.

Congress sources said that representation had been given in the panel to all factions in the state unit and various regions of the state.