Not just two segments, a lot is at stake for BJP, Congress in HP
SHIMLA : With the two assembly constituencies––Dharamshala and Pachhad—set to go for polls today, a lot will be at stake for the BJP and the opposition Congress.
While the BJP, led by chief minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur, is under pressure to repeat its 2019 Lok Sabha election performance, for the Congress party it is an opportunity to revive its fortunes in the hill-state where the grandparty was once a dominant force.
The by-elections to Dharamshala and Pachhad seats were necessitated after the sitting legislators Kishan Kapoor and Suresh Kashyap were elected to the Lok Sabha.
LITMUS TEST FOR JAI RAM, BJP
The BJP registered a gigantic victory in the Parliamentary election held in May, wherein the BJP retained all four Lok Sabha (LS) seats with an overwhelming margin of 3 to 4 lakh votes. On the Kangra seat, BJP candidate Kishan Kapoor created a record of polling the highest percentage of votes in the country. However, that massive victory was credited to the unprecedented Modi wave throughout the country. Also, the Parliamentary election was fought on national issues while the local issues took a back seat. So, the by-elections are the first real test for the BJP government led by first-term CM Jai Ram Thakur. If the Parliamentary election was a mandate for the PM Narender Modi’s policies in the assembly, the by-election popularity of the CM will be put to test. Besides, it will be a mandate for the works carried out by present government in last two years. BJP’s factional war is more visible in the politically sensitive Kangra district where the vice-chairman of the state planning board Ramesh Dhawala and party’s organisation secretary Pawan Rana are at daggers drawn.
Another controversy erupted when former minister Ravinder Singh Ravi came on target for allegedly circulating a letter on social media, in which serious allegations of corruption were levelled against the government.
Rival faction, which was lying low after the 2017 defeat of former CM, is gradually asserting itself after it got a breather when Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur was inducted in Union cabinet.
The BJP is facing heat in both Dharamshala and Pachhad from its own rebel candidates, which may make the election even tougher for the ruling party.
In Pachhad, Dayal Pyari, who owes allegiance to former CM Dhumal’s faction, is in the fray and giving the BJP nightmares.
On Dharmshala seat, BJP rebel Rakesh Chaudhary is in the election fray. Chaudhary comes from the dominant OBC community, which has the largest population in Dharamshala assembly segment.
FACTION-RIDDEN CONG SEES REVIVAL
Congress is looking for an opportunity to make a comeback after the humiliating defeat in the LS polls. The election result will also lay the future course for Congress as a new leadership has taken reins. However, like earlier there is no let up in the infighting in the party and the widening cracks were exposed when there were some flip flops during the selection of candidates in Dharamshala. Former minister Sudhir Sharma, who was the obvious choice, refused to contest at the eleventh hour.
He was reportedly peeved over the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore’s move to invite application from aspirants from Dharamshala seat despite the block Congress having unanimously forwarded Sharma’s name. Sharma also kept away from the election campaign and blamed some own party leaders of conspiring against him.
In Sharma’s absence, leader of opposition Mukesh Agnihotri led the charge in Dharamshala, but the campaign was lacking sharpness and coordination. In Pachhad, the situation is a bit relaxing for Congress and its candidate Gangu Ram Musafir, who has made an emotional appeal to the voters terming it his last election.