In a first, fatherson to take oath of office today
83YEAROLD VIRBHADRA SINGH WILL BE THE ELDEST MEMBER IN THE ASSEMBLY TO TAKE OATH WHILE HIS SON, VIKRAMADITYA SINGH, 28, THE YOUNGEST
DHARAMSHALA: As the first session of the 13th Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh begins on Tuesday, it will be for the first time in the state’s history that a father and son will take oath as member of the House.
Former six-term chief minister Virbhadra Singh and his son Vikramaditya Singh won seats in the state assembly in election held in November last year.
Interestingly, 83-year-old Virbhadra Singh will be the eldest member in the assembly while his son, Vikramaditya Singh (28), youngest.
Virbhadra had declared that 2017 polls will be his last but not before launching his son, Vikramaditya, who made his assembly debut from Shimla Rural, a seat his father vacated for him. The former chief minister, meanwhile, shifted to Arki assembly segment in Solan district and won.
In almost 60 years of public life, first as a junior minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet and then chief minister of Himachal, Singh had a mass appeal unmatched by any other leader in the hill state. He was seeking a seventh term, but the party suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the BJP in elections and managed to win only 21 seats.
Vikramaditya, meanwhile, began his political career as a Youth Congress leader. He was first elected as the Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress chief in 2011, but his election was held null and void after found guilty of violation of the Model Code of Conduct and was barred from contesting.
He contested and won in 2013 and continues to hold the post. In 2015, he was appointed director of Himachal Vikas Nigam.