BJP, Congress wooing rebels in Himachal
FEARING HUNG HOUSE
SHIMLA : With strategists of the BJP and opposition Congress anticipating a neck-and-neck contest in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, the two rival parties have started reaching out to promising rebels and independent candidates, hoping to cobble up a majority in case of a hung assembly.
The parties are expecting a tight contest in 25 assembly segments.while the ruling BJP has 21 rebels in the fray, Congress’ prospects are being hampered by seven disgruntled former party leaders. The BJP suspects that around six candidates have the potential to swing the election results.
Both parties had started wooing disgruntled ex-leaders within two days of polling. The BJP suspects that at least 12 of its rebel leaders may dent the prospects of official candidates.
In Kinnaur, former legislator Tejwant Negi made the elections in the assembly segment a triangular contest. Tejwant has represented Kinnaur from 2007 to 2012. However, he was denied a ticket this time as he lost the polls in 2012 and 2017.
In Mandi, Praveen Sharma, a young BJP leader, who lost the ticket race, has thrown his hat in the ring as an independent, while former Union Minister Sukhram’s son Anil Sharma is contesting the polls for the fifth time. Meanwhile, the Congress has pitted former Pradesh Congress Committee president and former minister Kaul Singh’s daughter Champa Thakur. Perhaps, the most interesting contest is in Theog, where former state Congress president Kuldeep Singh Rathore is locked in a quadrangular battle as Vijay Pal Khachi, son of Congress stalwart JBL Khachi and Indu Verma, wife of former BJP MLA Rakesh Verma, are in the fray as Independents. The seat, once a fortress of veteran leader Vidya Stokes, is currently presented by CPI(M)’S Rakesh Singha. Indu joined Congress ahead of the assembly elections and was hopeful of getting the ticket. However, after Congress fielded Rathore, Indu jumped into the fray as an Independent. Asked about the possibility of rebels reconciling with the party, Thakur said, “A few of them are in
A few of them (rebel candidates) are in touch with us. JAI RAM THAKUR , chief minister
There is no guarantee that our MLAS will not be pressured by the CBI and ED. VIKRAMADITYA SINGH, Congress general secretary
touch with us.” Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Vikramaditya Singh said, “We are concerned that even if we form the government, it can be brought down. Our halfway mark is 35 seats, but there is no guarantee that MLAS will not be pressured by the ED and CBI.”
In 1988, chief minister Virbhadra Singh had formed a minority government for a mere 18 days with the support of Independent MLA Ramesh Dhawala. However, the BJP rebel, chose to return to the BJP, resulting in the Congress government falling within a few days. Following this, the BJP formed a coalition government with the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC), an outfit floated by former Congress leader Sukh Ram. The HVC had managed to win five seats in the election and thus helped in formation of the BJP-HVC combine. As such, Independents could play a crucial role in government formation, in case no party gets a clear majority.
Most constituencies were rebels were in the fray have recorded heavy polling – Nalagarh (81.40%), Pachhad (78.30%), Sundernagar (77.80%), Bilaspur (76.48%), Arki (75.17%), Theog (74.96%), Mandi (74%) and Kinnaur (72.56%), which has added to both parties’ anxiety. HPU political science department head Harish Thakur said, “The belief that increased voting accounts for change is a myth as governments have changed even when there was less voting.”