THE X FACTORS

CONGRESS

➘ Anti-incumbency against the Jairam Thakur government

➘ Factionalism in BJP between CM Thakur and P.K. Dhumal groups

➘ Poll sops: all adult women to get Rs 1,500 per month pension, Rs 640 crore corpus for start-ups, return to the old pension scheme (OPS), etc.

BJP

➘ PM Modi’s proHindutva and nationalist image has acceptance among the electorate

➘ Better implementation of central/ state social sector schemes

➘ Jairam Thakur’s image as a relatively clean leader

➘ Party’s well-oiled election machinery