BJP's 'double-engine govt' will derail soon: Sachin Pilot

Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Monday said the "double-engine government" of the BJP will soon derail, asserting the party will lose the November 12 Himachal Pradesh elections as well as the 2024 Lok Sahba polls. Pilot campaigned for Congress candidates in the Doon and the Jubbal Kotkhai assembly segments. The former Rajasthan deputy chief minister also addressed a number of poll rallies, including in Kullu.

"The double-engine government of the BJP will derail soon. Its first engine will seize to function in Himachal Pradesh on November 12 and the second engine in 2024," he told reporters at a press conference here.

Pilot said the numerous visits by top BJP leaders to Himachal Pradesh was proof that the ruling party was worried and on the back foot.


Internal differences of the BJP are coming to the fore and people of the state have made up their minds to vote for the Congress, he claimed.

At one of the poll rallies, Pilot said the performance of the BJP government in the state has been poor and it has failed to keep its promises made five years ago.

He urged people to elect the Congress as it was a credible alternative to secure the future of the people of Himachal Pradesh.

"The BJP has not done anything for the state in the last five years," the Congress leader said

"If they could ask for votes on the basis of their own performance in the last five years, they would not have called so many leaders from Delhi," he said.

Pilot also dubbed the BJP manifesto a "cover-up job" in which it has sidestepped the old pension scheme issue.

"OPS has taken root in Himachal and people are emotional about it. But the BJP is creating confusion over it... There should be no ambiguity as OPS is a commitment that the Congress has made to people of Himachal and it will be fulfilled immediately after our government is formed," the Congress leader said.

Pilot also alleged that candidates fielded by the BJP were not up to the mark and that is why it was raising religious and other issues. He also accused the BJP of raising loans in the state carelessly.

"It is very unfair on the part of the BJP to term as freebies when the Congress promises welfare measures to help people while the ruling party itself is promising the same sops," he said.