It’s a battle for supremacy between two chief ministers — incumbent BJP two-time CM Prem Kumar Dhumal and Congress’ five-time CM Virbhadra Singh — in Himachal Pradesh, where Assembly elections will be held for 68 seats on Sunday. The fight is so closely poised between the two camps that the customary ‘anti-incumbency’ factor seems to have become redundant this time around. What instead has held sway in this Assembly poll has been the issue of price rise and corruption.
The incumbent BJP government is banking on the recent flurry of scams, allegedly involving Congress members, to help it buck the usual trend — the state never repeats a government. It is hoping to cash in on the anti-corruption wave against the Congress to curry favour with voters.
Besides attacking Congress leaders with allegations of corruption, the party is also raising the bogey of price rise. To combat the Centre’s unpopular decision of the cap on LPG cylinders, the Dhumal-led government has announced it would provide electric heaters to households as an alternative.
The BJP leadership has consistently attacked former Union minister and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh on corruption allegations, levelling fresh charges against him all the time. This tactic, it seems, has not caused any dent in the Congress strongman’s image. Instead Singh has in turn accused Dhumal of giving away large tracts of prime land to private players at throwaway prices. BJP’s anti-corruption plank seems to have got diluted after Congress stepped up its attack against BJP chief Nitin Gadkari after allegations of “dubious” funding of his companies started doing the rounds. (Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election 2012)
As AICC incharge of the state, Birendra Chaudhry says, “Virbhadra Singh is still the tallest leader in the state.” For the 78-year-old Singh, who is fighting his last electoral battle, the faction-ridden Himachal Congress is proving to be a challenge. Nonetheless, Congress is hoping to retain its hold in Shimla and Kangra districts.
BSP has fielded 66 candidates, followed by Himachal Lokhit Party (36), TMC (25), SP (16), CPI-M (15), NCP and Swabhiman Party (12 each), CPI (7), Shiv Sena (4) and Independents (105).
In the 2007 poll, BJP had won 41 seats and the Congress got 23. Independents and BSP won three and one seat, respectively.
For the Congress-led UPA, a victory in Himachal will be a shot in the arm in the run up to 2014 general election.
