State Politics
Aside from his role in national politics, Singh has also been elected on seven occasions to the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The first occasion was in a by-election in October 1983, when he was returned for the Jubbal-Kotkhai constituency. He won that seat again in the 1985 elections. Thereafter, he was elected from the Rohru constituency in 1990, 1993, 1998 and 2003.
Singh became the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh for the first time in April 1983 and held the post until March 1990. He was again appointed to the role between December 1993 and March 1998; and once more from March 2003. With reappointments within those years, this record amounts to him holding the office on five occasions.
Between 1998 and 2003, he was Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly. He has also been president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee from February 1992 to September 1994, and leader of the Congress Legislative Group. He had also been president of the State Congress Committee in 1977, 1979 and 1980. In July 2012, he quit from all key party posts at a crucial time when the State is going for elections in November 2012.The trigger for the resignations is reported to be his exclusion from the Screening Committee for short listing of candidates for the polls.
Read more about this topic: Virbhadra Singh
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