Virbhadra Singh: Himachal Pradesh's longest serving CM, a Raja fighting his last battle

One of the longest serving Chief Ministers of India, Congress leader Virbhadra Singh was trusted again for the top job as the party goes in polls in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday.

At the age of 83, Virbhadra Singh’s political career is breathing his last and if he fails to overcome the infighting, corruption and anti-incumbency, it will be all but over.

However, Virbhadra Singh still feels he has one last fight left in him and the Congress will emerge as winner under his leadership in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.

The veteran has already announced it would be his last election and he will be fighting from Arki constituency this time instead of Shimla Rural. Congress party has filled his son Vikramaditya Singh from Shimla Rural constituency.

Virbhadra Singh, a scion of the Rampur-Bushahr royal family is part of older generation of the Congress Party. He is often called as Raja Sahib.

He was born in Sarahan area of Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla district. He is the son of Raja Padam Singh.

Singh began his political career with Lok Sabha elections in 1962. He served as Member of Parliament for five times -- 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980, and 2009.

Singh was also a member of Indian Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1976.

Apart from his long innings in national politics, Singh has also been elected to the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly on seven occasions from 1983 to till now.

Virbhadra Singh has a long political career and it has been quite clean until August 2009. On August 3, 2009, Anti-Corruption Bureau of Himachal Pradesh registered a case against Virbhadra Singh and his wife.

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The ACB alleged that Singh and his wife had breached the Prevention of Corruption Act in 1989 when he was the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

However, Singh and his wife were acquitted in 2012 on the eve of his oath taking ceremony in December 2012.

But this was not the end of problems for Virbhadra Singh and more troubles came his way in 2015 when CBI filled a case against him and his family for owning disproportionate assets.

The cases were filed against Virbhadra Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, son Vikramaditya and daughter Aparajita. He termed the cases a witch hunt by the BJP-led Central government and said he and his family will come clean.