Congress, BJP gearing up for Himachal polls

Rakesh Lohumi

With the assembly polls drawing near, the peaceful hill state has b e e n witnessing hectic political activity. The two main contenders for power, Opposition BJP and the ruling Congress, are already locked in an intense battle.Riding the Modi wave, the BJP is making a determined bid to wrest power from the Congress with a wellplanned strategy. On the other hand, a dismal national scenario seems to have made the Congress all the more desperate to retain power. The Virbhadra Singh government has been in the election mode for long, taking one populist decision after the other to woo different sections of the electorate. The Assembly election in the state is to be held along with Gujarat later in the year The BJP's spectacular performance in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Uttrakhand has given a big boost to its poll prospects. The party is working on a well planed strategy to take full advantage of the situation. It has organised a series of events to galvanise the party cadres and keep the wining momentum going for the impending electoral battle. It held an impressive rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Shimla within days. Thereafter, national president of the BJP Amit Shah visited Palampur and interacted with the top leadership of the party in the state, including MPs MLAs and office bearers, to get feedback and work out the poll strategy. He purposely chose Kangra for his two-day sojourn as the party had not done well in the last assembly elections in the largest and politically most significant district of the state. It won just 3 out of the total 15 seats in the district, considered to be its stronghold, which virtually cost it the government. Amit Shah immediately appointed Mangal Pandey, the Bihar BJP chief, as incharge of party affairs in Himachal in place of Shrikant Sharma, who has been made a minister in Uttar Pradesh.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has been moving across the state inaugurating projects, laying foundation stones, announcing opening of schools, colleges and other institutions and meeting representatives of various employees union to redress their grievances. He also fights legal battles in the court to defend himself and his family members in cases of corruption and money laundering being pursued by the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department.

Undeterred by the monsoon, the BJP rolled out four "Parivartan Rath Yatras", one for each parliamentary constituency, to keep the momentum going in the run-up to the election. The "yatras" traversed through all the 68 assembly segments over a period of three weeks. Prominent national leaders also participated at different stages in the Yatras, which took off and concluded from important Hindu shrines. The organisers made it a point to invite all the panchayat pradhans, irrespective of their political leanings, to the functions held en-route and also honoured old workers who had become dormant to strengthen the party at grassroots.
Besides attacking the Virbhadra Singh government over the issue of corruption and indifferent governance, the party leaders also highlighted the achievements of the Modi government and their impact on the state. In the next phase the BJP plans to organise "Padyatras" during which the party workers will swarm the villages to carry out a door-to-door campaign. While the BJP high command has been meticulously planning the moves for the battle of the ballot, the Congress high command seems to be in a state of utter confusion. There are no visible signs of its involvement in the affairs of the state, particularly with regard to preparations for the assembly polls. The party has been losing power in one state after the other and the cadres are a demoralised lot.
Himachal is a state where antiincumbency has been virtually decides the poll outcome. The state has been witnessing change of political regime with every election over the past three decades and as such the overall poll scenario for the Congress is far from encouraging. The only silver lining is that the party has a government in the neighbouring state of Punjab. It will be great help in arranging man power and raising the resources needed for carrying out an effective poll campaign.
Fighting against all odds it is striving hard to retain power and in the process resorting to desperate measures to buck antiincumbency. The Congress government has been in the election mode ever since UPA was ousted from Centre and it has been taking one populist decision after the other to woo various sections of electorate.
Some of the decisions, like grant of unemployment allowance to educated youth, regularisation of illegal structures and encroachments and making Dharamsala the second capital of the state will have severe longterm implications for both governance and failing financial health of the government.
With outstanding loans set to cross Rs 46,000 crore by the end of the current fiscal, the state is already slipping into a debt trap. A fund-starved state like Himachal with a population of just 70 lakh cannot afford the luxury of having two capitals. Already almost 85 percent of its budget is being spent to meet the committed liabilities on account of salaries, pensions, loan repayment and subsides. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has been moving across the state inaugurating projects, laying foundation stones, announcing opening of schools, colleges and other institutions and meeting representatives of various employees union to redress their grievances. He also fights legal battles in the court to defend himself and his family members in cases of corruption and money laundering being pursued by the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department.
The only objective of making Dharamsala the second capital is to woo the people of the Kangra region. The decision is totally out of sync with policy of e-governance being pursued in the country. Huge funds have been invested for creating IT infrastructure and most public services can now be availed online with a click of mouse.
Similarly, the decision to dole out unemployment allowance and regularise contract employees will further burden the already strained state exchequer.

The BJP has been equally responsible for this dismal situation on the governance front. Instead of behaving like a responsible opposition and raising real issues, the party kept making all sorts of demands with huge financial implications. Its strategy proved counter-productive as the Congress government, which had little to lose, fulfilled all the

The only objective of making Dharamsala the second capital is to woo the people of Kangra region. The decision is totally out of sync with policy of egovernance being pursued in the country. Huge funds have been invested for creating IT infrastructure and most public services can now be availed online with a click of mouse.

demands. Governance became a major casualty of the competitive populism of the two mainstream parties and it is quite evident that policy-wise there is no difference between them. It is another matter that populist measures have never helped the ruling party win polls in the state in the past. The BJP governments took a host of populist decisions in the run up to polls in 2003 and 2007 but still failed to retain power.
In fact, antiincumbency factor ensured the Congress win in 1993, 2003, and 2012 and helped the BJP to wrest power in 1990, 1998 and 2008. The BJP has not as yet opened its card on the leadership issue but given the three year track record of

Modi and Amit Shah at the helm a change of guard may be on the cards. Party has been revolving around senior leaders P.K Dhumal and Shanta Kumar for the past over three decades. Both Modi and Amit Shah laid special emphasis on honesty, clean image and youth power ,providing an indication that party will bring in new faces at all levels like various other states where elections were hand recently.
There is no dearth of leaders in the party , besides, Union Health Minister, who is a front runner, names of Jai Ram Thakur, Suresh Bhardwaj and the name of Ajai Jamwal, who is from the RSS, is also being mentioned in party circles. The possibility of a surprise pick like Yogi Adityanath will always be there. Amit Shah asserted that it had not taken any decision on the leadership issue as yet.
The Congress is entirely dependent on the leadership of octogenarian Virbhadra Singh but he and his family members are embroiled cases of corruption and facing prosecution. Rift is already visible in the party with leaders from Kangra like Vijay Mankotia, Vice Chairman of State Tourism Development Board, and Transport Minister G.S.Bali speaking in dissenting voice. The State Congress Chief Sukhwinder Singh and Virbhadra Singh have been at loggerheads for and all this does not augur well for the party.
A clear picture will emerge over the next few weeks as two the parties start the process of finalising candidates for the election. It remains to be seen if AAP, which managed to get 20 seats in Punjab, enters the fray or not.



		EDITOR'S MAIL MATTERS OF PUBLIC POLICY CHANGE OF GUARDS DOKLAM STANDOFF CHINA'S GAMEPLAN GST EFFECTS REALPOLITIK FRANKLY SPEAKING POWER OF MANUPULATION COMPETITIVE POPULISM MISPLACED CONCEPT WEST BENGAL POINTERS CHANDIGARH DIARY HITS & MISSES SPORTS WATCH AMERICAN DIARY PAKISTAN WATCH BEIJING'S BACKYARD BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR FOR THE NATION'S SAKE SIGNS OF THE TIMES YOGA IN DAILY LIFE TRAVELOGUE ART OF LIVING Issue:August' 2017 Subscribe Now	COMPETITIVE POPULISM Congress, BJP gearing up for Himachal polls Rakesh Lohumi With the assembly polls drawing near, the peaceful hill state has b e e n witnessing hectic political activity. The two main contenders for power, Opposition BJP and the ruling Congress, are already locked in an intense battle.Riding the Modi wave, the BJP is making a determined bid to wrest power from the Congress with a wellplanned strategy. On the other hand, a dismal national scenario seems to have made the Congress all the more desperate to retain power. The Virbhadra Singh government has been in the election mode for long, taking one populist decision after the other to woo different sections of the electorate. The Assembly election in the state is to be held along with Gujarat later in the year The BJP's spectacular performance in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Uttrakhand has given a big boost to its poll prospects. The party is working on a well planed strategy to take full advantage of the situation. It has organised a series of events to galvanise the party cadres and keep the wining momentum going for the impending electoral battle. It held an impressive rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Shimla within days. Thereafter, national president of the BJP Amit Shah visited Palampur and interacted with the top leadership of the party in the state, including MPs MLAs and office bearers, to get feedback and work out the poll strategy. He purposely chose Kangra for his two-day sojourn as the party had not done well in the last assembly elections in the largest and politically most significant district of the state. It won just 3 out of the total 15 seats in the district, considered to be its stronghold, which virtually cost it the government. Amit Shah immediately appointed Mangal Pandey, the Bihar BJP chief, as incharge of party affairs in Himachal in place of Shrikant Sharma, who has been made a minister in Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has been moving across the state inaugurating projects, laying foundation stones, announcing opening of schools, colleges and other institutions and meeting representatives of various employees union to redress their grievances. He also fights legal battles in the court to defend himself and his family members in cases of corruption and money laundering being pursued by the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department. Undeterred by the monsoon, the BJP rolled out four "Parivartan Rath Yatras", one for each parliamentary constituency, to keep the momentum going in the run-up to the election. The "yatras" traversed through all the 68 assembly segments over a period of three weeks. Prominent national leaders also participated at different stages in the Yatras, which took off and concluded from important Hindu shrines. The organisers made it a point to invite all the panchayat pradhans, irrespective of their political leanings, to the functions held en-route and also honoured old workers who had become dormant to strengthen the party at grassroots. Besides attacking the Virbhadra Singh government over the issue of corruption and indifferent governance, the party leaders also highlighted the achievements of the Modi government and their impact on the state. In the next phase the BJP plans to organise "Padyatras" during which the party workers will swarm the villages to carry out a door-to-door campaign. While the BJP high command has been meticulously planning the moves for the battle of the ballot, the Congress high command seems to be in a state of utter confusion. There are no visible signs of its involvement in the affairs of the state, particularly with regard to preparations for the assembly polls. The party has been losing power in one state after the other and the cadres are a demoralised lot. Himachal is a state where antiincumbency has been virtually decides the poll outcome. The state has been witnessing change of political regime with every election over the past three decades and as such the overall poll scenario for the Congress is far from encouraging. The only silver lining is that the party has a government in the neighbouring state of Punjab. It will be great help in arranging man power and raising the resources needed for carrying out an effective poll campaign. Fighting against all odds it is striving hard to retain power and in the process resorting to desperate measures to buck antiincumbency. The Congress government has been in the election mode ever since UPA was ousted from Centre and it has been taking one populist decision after the other to woo various sections of electorate. Some of the decisions, like grant of unemployment allowance to educated youth, regularisation of illegal structures and encroachments and making Dharamsala the second capital of the state will have severe longterm implications for both governance and failing financial health of the government. With outstanding loans set to cross Rs 46,000 crore by the end of the current fiscal, the state is already slipping into a debt trap. A fund-starved state like Himachal with a population of just 70 lakh cannot afford the luxury of having two capitals. Already almost 85 percent of its budget is being spent to meet the committed liabilities on account of salaries, pensions, loan repayment and subsides. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has been moving across the state inaugurating projects, laying foundation stones, announcing opening of schools, colleges and other institutions and meeting representatives of various employees union to redress their grievances. He also fights legal battles in the court to defend himself and his family members in cases of corruption and money laundering being pursued by the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department. The only objective of making Dharamsala the second capital is to woo the people of the Kangra region. The decision is totally out of sync with policy of e-governance being pursued in the country. Huge funds have been invested for creating IT infrastructure and most public services can now be availed online with a click of mouse. Similarly, the decision to dole out unemployment allowance and regularise contract employees will further burden the already strained state exchequer. The BJP has been equally responsible for this dismal situation on the governance front. Instead of behaving like a responsible opposition and raising real issues, the party kept making all sorts of demands with huge financial implications. Its strategy proved counter-productive as the Congress government, which had little to lose, fulfilled all the The only objective of making Dharamsala the second capital is to woo the people of Kangra region. The decision is totally out of sync with policy of egovernance being pursued in the country. Huge funds have been invested for creating IT infrastructure and most public services can now be availed online with a click of mouse. demands. Governance became a major casualty of the competitive populism of the two mainstream parties and it is quite evident that policy-wise there is no difference between them. It is another matter that populist measures have never helped the ruling party win polls in the state in the past. The BJP governments took a host of populist decisions in the run up to polls in 2003 and 2007 but still failed to retain power. In fact, antiincumbency factor ensured the Congress win in 1993, 2003, and 2012 and helped the BJP to wrest power in 1990, 1998 and 2008. The BJP has not as yet opened its card on the leadership issue but given the three year track record of Modi and Amit Shah at the helm a change of guard may be on the cards. Party has been revolving around senior leaders P.K Dhumal and Shanta Kumar for the past over three decades. Both Modi and Amit Shah laid special emphasis on honesty, clean image and youth power ,providing an indication that party will bring in new faces at all levels like various other states where elections were hand recently. There is no dearth of leaders in the party , besides, Union Health Minister, who is a front runner, names of Jai Ram Thakur, Suresh Bhardwaj and the name of Ajai Jamwal, who is from the RSS, is also being mentioned in party circles. The possibility of a surprise pick like Yogi Adityanath will always be there. Amit Shah asserted that it had not taken any decision on the leadership issue as yet. The Congress is entirely dependent on the leadership of octogenarian Virbhadra Singh but he and his family members are embroiled cases of corruption and facing prosecution. Rift is already visible in the party with leaders from Kangra like Vijay Mankotia, Vice Chairman of State Tourism Development Board, and Transport Minister G.S.Bali speaking in dissenting voice. The State Congress Chief Sukhwinder Singh and Virbhadra Singh have been at loggerheads for and all this does not augur well for the party. A clear picture will emerge over the next few weeks as two the parties start the process of finalising candidates for the election. It remains to be seen if AAP, which managed to get 20 seats in Punjab, enters the fray or not.