National
Virbhadra to file papers on Friday, BJP’s Dhumal yet to decide
Shimla, Oct 19 (IANS) Congress leader and six-time Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will file his nomination papers for the November 9 assembly polls on Friday while his arch rival and BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal is yet to decide a date to file papers.
This time both political rivals are trying their luck from new seats.
Virbhadra Singh is contesting from Arki in Solan district and Dhumal from Sujanpur in Hamirpur district. The former desired to contest from the new seat. Both Arki and Sujanpur seats were won by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2012 assembly elections.
The Congress leader will be accompanied by Vidya Stokes and other party leaders when he files his nomination papers. He is also planning to hold a road show and start his campaign from there.
Virbhadra Singh, 83, who has been declared as the Congress Chief Ministerial candidate, is pitted against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s greenhorn Ratan Singh Pal.
From this seat, the BJP ignored sitting legislator Govind Ram and allotted ticket to Pal.
BJP’s Dhumal has swapped his present Hamirpur seat, the pocket borough of the BJP, with party legislator Narendra Thakur, who will be the party candidate from the seat. Dhumal launched his campaign from Sujanpur two days ago.
Party sources said Dhumal was likely to file papers on October 23.
Suspense still continues over allocating ticket to Virbhadra Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh, who is eagerly awaiting his electoral debut from Shimla (Rural), the seat his father won with a record margin of 19,033 votes in 2012.
Vikramaditya is currently the state Youth Congress President and his father had already declared that his son would be contesting the next polls from Shimla (Rural).
The BJP has fielded Pramod Sharma from Shimla (Rural). He was once known as a close aide of Virbhadra Singh.
The Congress on Wednesday announced its first list of 59 candidates. The remaining nine are likely to be announced on Friday.
The contest from Sujanpur seems interesting this time as the Congress has fielded Rajinder Rana, who knows the Dhumal family inside out. This would help the Congress give a befitting reply to the BJP.
Rana in 2012 won the assembly elections from this seat as an Independent and later joined the Congress. However, ahead of the 2014 general election, he vacated the seat and contested the Lok Sabha election from Hamirpur.
He was routed by BJP’s Anurag Thakur, the son of Dhumal.
In the 2012 elections to the 68-member assembly, which saw a voter turnout of 73.92 per cent, the Congress won 36 seats, the BJP 26 and Independents six.
The BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections had won all the four seats with a vote percentage of 53.85 per cent. At that time, the Congress, which was at helm in the state, got 41.07 per cent votes.
–IANS
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National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.