Shimla, Apr 19 (IANS): Congress rebel Harish Janartha, who unsuccessfully contested the 2017 Assembly elections from Shimla as an Independent candidate, rejoined the party on Friday.
He joined the Congress at a function here attended among others by state party President Kuldeep Rathore.
In a four-cornered contest in the last Assembly elections, Janartha, a former Deputy Mayor with the Shimla Municipal Corporation, was defeated by a slender margin by four-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Suresh Bharadwaj.
He was denied a ticket by the Congress in the Assembly polls.
"I am thankful to Virbhadra Singh (six-time Chief Minister) for bringing me to the party fold after 18 months of my exile," Janartha told IANS.
Polling for the four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh - Shimla, Kangra, Mandi and Hamirpur - is scheduled for May 19.