New Delhi: Thirty seven years ago, in 1985, the Congress under Virbhadra Singh was elected for the second consecutive time in Himachal Pradesh. Since then, no other party has returned to power in the hill state. With the hill state gearing up for elections next month, the BJP – under the leadership of chief minister Jai Ram Thakur – seeks to break that jinx while the Congress has again reposed its trust in Virbhadra Singh’s family.
After slow start, Congress readies its horses
Just a short while ago, it appeared that the BJP would have a smooth run in the state. While the Congress was late to make a start there, the saffron party sent several high-profile leaders like national president J.P Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah to launch the party’s campaign. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the state earlier this week, showing the importance that the BJP has placed on the state election.
On the other hand, the Congress was a slow starter. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited the state last week, but only after the state unit president Pratibha Singh, who is the widow of Virbhadra Singh, appealed to the central leaders of the party to do so. But a host of factors suggest that things appear to be turning rosier for the grand old party.
There seems to be new-found energy and excitement in the party cadre and that is visible in the jostle for party tickets. While the Congress had taken a lead over the BJP by announcing its first list of 46 candidates even before the saffron party had announced any, the BJP has now completed its process of selecting the candidates for all 68 seats. The Congress still has five more candidates to declare.
Also Read | Himachal Pradesh Polls on November 12, Counting on December 8: EC
AAP campaign has slowed after initial surge
On the other hand, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had announced its first four candidates on September 20, only recently declared another 54 as it waited for rebels from both the traditional rivals to join it. Even now, it has not taken a decision on 10 seats.
But what has enthused the Congress cadre the most is the fact that AAP is now focussing its energies more on the Gujarat assembly elections, dates for which may be announced soon by the Election Commission. Earlier, there was a feeling in the political circles that following its sterling win in the Punjab polls earlier this year, AAP may focus in a big way on Himachal Pradesh. But the party has probably realised that breaking into the state may not be that easy as people there – as in Uttarakhand – were used to bipolar politics.
This is believed to be a reason why after early visits by the national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia and even Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, the state has not seen any significant visit or programme by any of these senior leaders of the party. Rather they, along with several ministers and legislators from Punjab, have been campaigning in Gujarat, for which the poll dates are yet to be announced.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Photo: PTI/Kamal Singh
Congress learns lessons from Punjab debacle
In Punjab, the Congress lost the poll after it pushed out senior leader and incumbent CM Amarinder Singh. The party appears to have learnt some lessons. In Himachal Pradesh, it is going into the polls with two members of the Virbhadra Singh family leading the charge. While Pratibha Singh is the state unit president and the MP from Mandi, the party has also given the ticket to Singh’s son Vikramaditya from the Shimla Rural constituency.
Congress has also made ‘ability to win’ its main yardstick in the selection of the candidates. It has given tickets to several relatives of prominent leaders – these include Harshwardhan Chauhan from Shillai, Sudhir Sharma from Dharamsala, Vinay Kumar from Renukaji, Rohit Thakur from Jubbal-Kotkhai, Ajay Mahajan from Nurpur, Ashish Butail from Palampur, Bhawani Singh Pathania from Fatehpur and Raghubir Singh Bali from Nagrota.
Congress gives tickets to all but one sitting MLA
The party has also given tickets to 19 of its 20 sitting MLAs. In Kinnaur, where Jagat Singh Negi had won, the party is still undecided as its State Youth Congress president Nigam Bhandari has also staked a claim for the ticket.
Meanwhile, the Congress has fielded its legislative party leader Mukesh Agnihotri from the Haroli seat. It has also given tickets to two of its former state unit presidents – Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu from Nadaun and Kuldeep Singh Rathore from Theog.
As for the BJP, it first announced a list of 62 candidates earlier this week and followed it up with the remaining six. The party, which had won 44 seats in the 2017 assembly elections, has this time fielded 20 new faces. It has also given tickets to six women candidates.
The BJP has given tickets to 11 of the ministers, including chief minister Jai Ram Thakur. He would be contesting from the Seraj assembly constituency, which he currently represents.
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur. Photo: PTI
When it comes to Himachal, BJP is not against dynastic politics
The only minister not figuring in the list is Mahender Singh. He opted out in favour of his son, Rajat Thakur, who was given the ticket from Dharampur. This, incidentally, has led to a massive protest by party workers in the constituency as Singh’s daughter, Vandana Guleria, was eyeing the seat.
She was visibly angry at being denied the ticket despite her work as a member of Mandi Zila Parishad and as general secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha. Vandana quit the party posts in protest and asked on Facebook: “Why daughters are always sacrificed in familism (sic)”. She added in another post: “You can bring ticket from Delhi but not votes”.
The BJP, which often attacks other parties for promoting “dynasty rule”, has in Himachal Pradesh given tickets to several family members of party leaders.
In Jubbal Kothkhai, the party has given the ticket to Chetan Bragta, son of former BJP minister Narinder Bragta. Following his father’s death in 2021, Chetan contested the by-election as an independent candidate. Though the BJP had expelled him initially, he was later re-inducted into the party and has now been given the ticket.