Congress leaders Vikramaditya Singh and Anand Sharma were amongst the 12 leaders who filed their nomination papers in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, taking the total number of nominations filed in the past three days to 21.

Singh, who filed his nomination from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, attacked BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut in an oblique reference while Sharma, who filed his nomination papers from Kangra, shunned the ''outsider'' tag, and said they had never questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hailing from Gujarat, contested elections from Varanasi.

''We are doing politics of development, she is doing politics of entertainment,'' said Singh, adding that this ''picture'' directed by Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur would fail at the ''box office'' on June 1.

Singh, was accompanied by his mother and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and Himachal in-charge Rajiv Shukla, while Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania and Cabinet Minister Chander Kumar accompanied Sharma.

''Kangana had started her campaign 20-25 days back and from morning to evening, she used abusive words for us but has not uttered a single word on her vision for this parliamentary constituency'', he said, adding that she should tell people what she wanted to do.

Mandi would be made a smart city and Jalori Jot tunnel would be constructed on the line of the Rohtang tunnel. The remote Pangi area of Chamba would also be connected through the tunnel, Singh said, adding, "I would take forward the long and deep relation with the people of Mandi.'' The Congress candidate, who is the son of former chief minister late Virbhadra Singh, scion of erstwhile Rampur estate, Singh is pitted against actor and BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu claimed that winds of change are visible in the country and after the first three phases of Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has been washed out in the South and halved in the North. ''Vikramaditya Singh would win by a margin of over two lakh,'' said Sukhu.

Later, addressing public rallies in favour of Singh and Sharma at Mandi and Dharamshala, Sukhu said that the MLAs who ''sold'' themselves would be behind the bars. Investigations are underway and soon ''big things'' will come out. He also targeted the BJP candidate from Dharamshala assembly seat Sudhir Sharma and alleged that the Dharamshala MLA also ''sold himself in the political market''.

He was apparently referring to six Congress rebel MLAs who voted in favour of the BJP in Rajya Sabha elections, and later joined the BJP and are now contesting the Assembly by-polls from their respective seats on BJP ticket.

''This is an election between honesty and corruption and the issue of horse-trading by the BJP would be kept before the people, besides public welfare work undertaken by the state government like restoration of the Old Pension Scheme and Rs 1,500 monthly to women,'' said CM Sukhu.

Interacting with the media, Sukhu claimed that he has extensively toured the constituency and people are praising the policies of the Congress government and the efforts made during the monsoon disaster, and they are against the BJP for allegedly not standing with the state during the disaster.

After filing the nomination, Anand Sharma rejected the ''outsider'' tag given to him by the BJP and said that he is a Himachali, born in Shimla. ''We have never questioned that PM Narendra Modi is from Gujarat and contesting from Varanasi, we do not have such a small mindset,'' he said.

Sharma, a four-time Rajya Sabha member and former Union minister who would take on BJP candidate Rajeev Bhardwaj, was accompanied by Speaker Kukdeep Singh Pathania and Cabinet Minister Chander Kumar.

''This is not a new place for me and we are going to the people and trying to convey our message to every voter. Our focus would be on promoting eco-tourism and adventure sports in Kangra and Chamba districts falling under the Kangra Lok Sabha seat,'' Sharma said while talking to media persons.

Expansion of railways and setting up central institutions and a trade park in Chamba would also be the priorities, and at present 11 out of 16 MLAs in the Kangra parliamentary seat are from the Congress, while one seat of Dharamshala is going for bypolls along with the Lok Sabha elections, he added.

Among others who filed the nominations were Congress rebel and BJP candidate Ravi Thakur, who filed his nomination papers for Lahaul and Spiti assembly by-polls. He was accompanied by Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur.