Battle shifts to Himachal Pradesh now

NEW DELHI: While political pundits and pollsters had rivetted their gaze on the pulsating battle between the Congress and the BJP in Gujarat, the confrontation between the two in the relatively smaller state of Himachal Pradesh went largely unnoticed. Even when campaigning for 65 of the 68 seats in the state came to end on Monday, it was the probable outcome of the Gujarat elections that continued to be in the limelight.

Though it has been pushed to the background, the Himachal assembly polls are, politically speaking, no less significant, and the BJP is waging a grim battle to wrest power in the state after a gap of five years. Its main campaign theme has revolved around allegations of corruption against chief minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha. The saffron outfit has also launched a vicious attack on Mr Singh’s ministerial colleagues for their vagrant lifestyle.

After the initial indecision over the leadership issue, the BJP finally named PK Dhumal as its chief ministerial candidate. It left the followers of the other contender, Shanta Kumar, sulking, but the former Union minister was mollified by the promise of an important role at the central level.

Despite the saffron onslaught, the chief minister continues be the principal campaigner for the Congress. Since the campaign began, Mr Singh has personally visited all constituencies, soliciting votes for his party colleagues.

Polling for the first phase of polls, covering the three tribal-dominated constituencies of Kinnaur, Bharmour and Lahaul-Spiti, was held on November 14. The EC went for early elections there since it would have been difficult there in winter.

In the 2003 polls, the Congress had won a comfortable majority in the 68-member assembly, bagging 43 seats. The BJP came a poor second, and it could only win 16 seats. The party hopes to stage a comeback this time round by riding on the perceived anti-incumbency and corruption charges.

Among those in the fray are former state Congress chief Vidya Stokes (Kumarsain), former Union minister Sukh Ram’s son Anil Kumar Sharma (Mandi), state BJP chief Jairam Thakur (Chachiot), besides Mr Virbhadra Singh, who is trying his luck again from his family pocket-borough of Rohru, and his predecessor PK Dhumal (Bamsan).

The entry of BSP into the state’s electoral scene has injected an element of uncertainty in the Congress camp, as Mayawati’s candidates are expected to cut into the ruling party’s Dalit support-base.

The party’s campaign in the Himalayan state is being spearheaded by former state minister Vijay Singh Mankotia, who quit the Congress to embrace the BSP after levelling serious corruption charges against Mr Singh and his family-members.