Exit polls write Hooda’s political obituary

Amitabh Shukla / Chandigarh

With Assembly polls in October and exit polls for Lok Sabha suggesting a Congress rout in Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda is in deep trouble. Not even the staunchest Congress supporter in the State sees him winning again and becoming Chief Minister for the third time.

“The exit polls have written Hooda’s political obituary. The situation on the ground reflects what the exit polls showed. No amount of jugglery could save him from the impending doom in the Assembly polls later this year,” a senior BJP leader said.

The exit polls have given only 0-2 seats out of 10 to Congress in Haryana. Many in the State speculate that the lone seat which the Congress could perhaps win is Rohtak, the stronghold of Hooda from where his son Deepinder Hooda is contesting.

Though BJP has always been a marginal player in the State and banked on alliances for electoral success, the Modi wave seems to have worked in its favour. If the exit polls come true, the saffron party would, for the first time, emerge as a dominating political force in the State.

Interestingly, unlike the Congress or the Indian National Lok Dal, there is no strong BJP leader in Haryana nor is the organisation present in the rural areas. Party leaders attribute the success to the “Modi factor” and the desire of change due to double anti-incumbency, both in the Centre as well as the State.

After shunning the scam tainted INLD, led by the Chautalas, BJP formed a non-Jat platform in Haryana as it allied with Haryana Janhit Congress led by Kuldeep Bishnoi. While BJP fought on 8 seats, HJC contested from the remaining two. The two parties are in alliance for the Assembly polls as well but BJP is clearly emerging as the dominating partner in this alliance. Distancing from INLD and its leader Om Prakash Chautala perhaps is helping the BJP in the State as corruption emerged as a major poll issue.

BJP was also able to successfully negate the challenge of Aam Aadmi Party as it steadfastly refused to ally with INLD despite its repeated overtures. Both the top leaders of INLD—OP Chautala and his son Ajay are in jail, convicted in the teacher’s recruitment scam.

Sensing the public mood in the State before the Lok Sabha polls, two Congress MLAs—Venod Sharma and Dharambir left the party with the intention of joining the BJP. While Sharma was refused entry after the objection of Sushma Swaraj, Dharambir was given BJP ticket and contested from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh.

As political leaders are the first to sense public opinion and hunt for better opportunities, several desertions took place in Congress while it failed to attract any leader from any party. Sitting Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit, who was also a Minister in the UPA I, was the first to leave Congress and contest from Gurgaon on a BJP ticket.  Three former ministers—Krishna Gehlot, Saroj Sarwan and Ramesh Kaushik also joined BJP.

With exit polls showing a rout of the Congress and grassroots assessment of the parties suggesting decimation of the ruling party, BJP sources claimed that that there are at least half a dozen Congress and Independent MLAs who are in touch with the party.

“Once the results of Lok Sabha elections are announced, preparations for the Assembly polls will begin. It is time for the end of ten year tenure of Hooda,” said a BJP leader from Ambala.

Hooda has been facing one problem after the other in his second tenure with several of his supporting MLAs facing criminal charges. Two of them are in jail facing murder charges. One was in jail for a long time facing charges of abatement of suicide of an air hostess. Another is facing charges under the Electoral laws while one MLA tried to commit suicide. All these brought a crisis of credibility before the Government.

To add to his woes, the much publicised Robert Vadra-DLF land deal eroded the faith of the general public in good governance. Victimisation of whistle blowers and senior bureaucrats like Ashok Khemka and Sanjiv Chaturvedi repeatedly further showed the Government in bad light and to what extent it could go.

While the ruling party faced a crisis of credibility, the Opposition leaders are languishing in jail on corruption charges. As there was a complete political vacuum, BJP stepped in to fill the space vacated by both the Congress and the BJP. (May 14, 2014) 

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Agenda before new govt: Follow Vajpayee model in regenerating roads

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

The job of political reporters covering elections 2014 is now over. Along with the rest of the country, they too are waiting for the magic inside the Electronic Voting Machines to come out with all its magnificence on May 16, the day of counting.

Of course, political reporters are never out of business in a country as vast as ours where Lok Sabha elections would be followed by Assembly elections one after the other. But after the fate of the candidates and parties have been sealed, there is nothing much to say or analyse till the genie comes out of the small machines called EVMs.

Covering the polls, talking to people, learning about their life and political preferences and travelling in this country where the topography and climate of one place differs from the other every few kilometre, is an experience in itself something to cherish. Despite the relative prosperity in the northern States, there was something in common between them — bad condition of the National Highways. Punjab is an exception, as the highways are well-maintained except the NH-1, connecting Panipat to Amritsar which has been under construction since time immemorial and the project to convert it into six lanes is only on paper. But in Punjab, the toll rates are high.

Despite paying all kinds of taxes when you purchase a new vehicle, including road tax, you have to pay every time you hit the highways in Punjab and this indeed is quite steep. Even in Haryana, there have been several agitations on high toll charges forcing the Government to have a rethink on it policy, particularly in Rohtak.

I never understood the concept of toll tax. When providing roads is the responsibility of the Government and an engine of economic growth, how can it charge for fulfilling its basic responsibility? Moreover, a hefty sum has already been charged as road tax at the time of purchase of a vehicle. Also, there is absolutely no policy in the country on toll, what should be the minimum distance between one toll booth and the other, for how long should the motorists pay toll tax after a project has been completed?

During elections, I went to several places in Himachal Pradesh but was appalled at the apathy of the Government of the day in providing decent roads. Perhaps one of the major tourist attractions of the country, Himachal today begs for better road infrastructure, something which no one is bothered about. Except the NH-22, which connects State capital Shimla, most of the other roads are in a dilapidated condition with the upper layer exposed at several places, pot holes appearing from nowhere and a nightmare for drivers.

The NH-21, connecting Chandigarh to Manali is in a bad shape at several places, particularly when one enters Himachal Pradesh. The Kiratpur Sahib to Swarghat stretch hardly has the upper layer on it. After that till Mandi, there are stretches where the potholes are quite huge. This is one of the most important stretches in the State which is important not only for the tourists but also strategically. It goes to Manali and beyond to Rohtang Pass, Keylong and then to Leh. Tourists simply curse the Government whenever they encounter a bad stretch in the hills. Then you have the Nangal-McLeodganj Road which is good till Amb and little beyond it. But then come the potholes when you require your driving skills to manoeuvre the hill roads in and around Kangra, something which is not only tough but also dangerous in stretches. The Shimla-Mandi road is no different as it too faces the apathy of the State Government.

I don’t know why the Himachal Government is so indifferent as roads are the showpieces of the State. Anyone who travels on a badly maintained road will simply blame the State Government, will not hear any reasons and will also vote you out at the first given opportunity. When I talked to officials and candidates, all they did was to blame some petty contractor for the delay or some legal points. No one is going to hear such arguments anymore. People simply want better roads to travel.

The Chandigarh-Dehradun road passes through three States — Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The stretch in the hills near Nahan could have been much better. The one near Kala Amb in the industrial belt is simply too bad, the upper layer is missing, there are potholes and dust all around. In the Haryana section, the road is narrow given the heavy traffic.

Post-Independence, it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who realised for the first time that roads are the lifelines of the country and made appropriate policy to spruce it up under his Minister Gen BC Khanduri. But in the last 10 years, the UPA Government is on a snail’s pace, perhaps forgetting that roads could act as a catalyst for economic growth. Busy as it was peddling ideas on removal of poverty, it forgot that roads indeed play a vital role in economic growth and ultimately help bring opportunities and improve living conditions.

Travelling in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in recent months, I found construction at most places on the highway and space has been gobbled up by some commercial activity or earmarked for the purpose.

But what perplexed me the most was the fact that the National Highways were perpetually under construction everywhere. At most of the places they were being six-laned. When I visited Jaipur from Delhi a year ago, a similar construction was on. When the new millennium dawned and I went to Jaipur, the NHAI was four-laning the road.

I wondered whether construction and widening would be a permanent feature of the roads of the country. Half a decade from now, the need would be felt for eight-laned roads and maybe 15-20 years from now, the volume of traffic would force the authorities to have 20-laned roads.

I don’t understand what prevents the authorities from constructing 12-lane roads straightway keeping in view the traffic scenario of 2025 or 2040. It does not require rocket science technology to know that the number of vehicles on roads keep increasing everyday and they need space to move. I am sure after the six-laning of NH-1 is complete, no one knows the deadline, need would again be felt for eight-laning and then 10-laning. There would be construction activity going on all the time and we would hardly find a 200-250 km of expressway free from any construction or broadening activity.

Frequent travellers on NH 1 from Delhi to Amritsar or Chandigarh would vouch for the fact that this road remains under construction most of the time. While the road from Delhi to Panipat has been six-laned, the road from there to Jalandhar is still under construction. Not surprisingly, there are diversions galore all the way. After the work is complete, more vehicles would be added and a need would be felt to widen the road further.

The Ambala-Zirakpur (Chandigarh) stretch was four-laned a few years ago and already a need is being felt to widen it with multi-storied housing complexes coming in the vicinity of the Capital and accompanying vehicles clogging the road. Hopefully, the authorities would show some vision of looking at the traffic scenario 20 years from now and take appropriate action and not just knee-jerk reaction of broadening the road every 3-4 years. For the new Government, following the Vajpayee model is the key. Create the infrastructure and then opportunities will follow. (May 12, 2014) 

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Himachal elections: Litmus test for BJP, Congress

Amitabh Shukla | Shimla

After witnessing a fierce electoral war in Himachal Pradesh in which two powerful political families are involved — one from the BJP and the other from Congress, forty-eight lakh voters would decide the fate of 38 candidates in four parliamentary seats in the Himalayan State on Wednesday.

No prizes for guessing that it is senior BJP leader, two-time Chief Minister and now Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal who is pitched in an electoral battle with six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in a battle of wits in which victory or defeat would have wide spread political ramification for both the leaders. Both Dhumal and Singh, spearheading their parties, campaigned extensively and addressed over 300 meetings each in almost every nook and corner of the state.

Unlike the culture at the national level in BJP, Himachal Pradesh is perhaps the only State where father Dhumal and son Anurag Thakur are both important leaders of the saffron party. BJP leaders in the state insist that Thakur, two-time MP from Hamirpur and President the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, is a leader on his own right and has not “benefited” from the stature of his father, a claim which the Congress rejects outrightly.

Then, there is the royal family of Virbhadra Singh—typically dynastic and represents the classic Congress culture where son succeeds the father and occasionally the wife of the leader too pitches in. Pratibha Singh or the Rani Sahiba, wife of the chief minister is the Congress candidate from Mandi while his son Vikramaditya Singh, called Tikka Sahib, is the star campaigner of the party. Vikramaditya, 23, President of Himachal Youth Congress, has been launched big time in this election. He could have contested the poll from Mandi had he been 25 years of age. BJP leaders in the state slam the dynastic politics of the Congress saying his mother is keeping the seat warm for him.

Virbhadra Singh, more popular as Raja Sahib, embroiled in several controversies and charges of corruption, launched what the BJP called “vendetta politics” soon after coming to power for the sixth time in December 2012. Both Dhumal and Thakur have been brought under the lens of the state government controlled Vigilance Bureau for alleged irregularities in the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association.  Thakur has build a world class cricket stadium in Dharamsala in the backdrop of the mighty Dhauladhar range and Virbhadra Singh wants to discredit them by all means available to him.

“This election is a litmus test for both Dhumal and Singh. If BJP wins 3-1, the days of Virbhadra could be numbered. Dhumal would emerge victorious in the people’s court and vendetta politics would be defeated. But If Congress wins 3-1, Virbhadra would have the last laugh and Dhumal would be defensive besides facing more vendetta cases,” said a political analyst in Shimla.

ISSUES

Apples: In the horticulture belt of the state, invasion of Chinese and American apples in the Indian market is a major poll issue. The horticulturists of the state have been petitioning to the Congress government in the state and the Centre for increasing import duty on foreign apples to at least 100 per cent if not 150 per cent to save the apple farmers of the state. Nothing happened on this front even though Commerce Minister Anand Sharma is from the state. When BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi talked about the invasion of foreign apples and its adverse impact on Himachal farmers and how he will increase the import duty in Solan, it was music to the ear of the farmers. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who also addressed a rally in the same town, did not address the concerns. This could help BJP in the apple belt.

Tourism: This is the bread and butter of the state but almost everyone involved in the trade is dismayed at the casual approach of the government on this front. “People come to Himachal Pradesh despite the government,” said Mahesh Sharma, owner of a hotel, near Victory Tunnel in Shimla. When Congress government came it sniffed something wrong in whatever its predecessor government did. The Anandpur Sahib-Naina Devi ropeway project was scrapped. There has been no progress on the Jakhu Temple ropeway in Shimla nor has anything been done in the remaining projects. The heli taxi   scheme is in limbo and there has been no value addition in tourism in recent years. “People would simply stop coming to Himachal if something is not done to create additional facilities and attractions,” said a resort owner in Mandi.

Regional divide of upper and lower Himachal: This has affected governance badly. Ask the people and they will tell you that a divide exists. For example, Dhumal is from lower Himachal while Virbhadra Singh is from Upper Himachal. Bureaucracy, choice postings and a lot of other things depend on this regional divide which many say is eating into the vitality of the state.

Poor condition of highways: In this hill state, roads are the lifeline as there is no rail or air connectivity. But except the Chandigarh-Shimla National highway, all roads are in a very bad shape. The Virbhadra Singh government simply did not do anything on this front in the last 16 months. “Everyone in the state travels by road and this time, they know how bad the conditions are and who is responsible,” said the owner of ‘Bright’ Dhaba on the Mandi-Ner Chowk highway. The two main tourist attractions of Dharamsala-McLeodganj and Manali-Rohtang Pass are ravaged by potholes for several kilometers at a stretch. Rains in June last year damaged roads in the apple belt and it is yet to be repaired. BJP is targeting the government on this and Congress is on defensive.

HPCA: Perhaps the most beautiful cricket stadium of the world is in Himachal Pradesh at Dharamsala. It is under stack from the new government on land lease and alleged irregularities. Congress has made it a poll issue to target Dhumal and Thakur. Charge sheet has also been filed in the court against the two. BJP has retaliated saying it is political vendetta.

Narendra Modi: In its entire campaign BJP talked about Modi while Congress kept on dismissing the existence of any “Modi wave”. The BJP prime ministerial candidate is a big poll issue with sharply divided opinion.  Other national issues too are being raised mainly by the BJP.

CONSTITUENCIES

Shimla: Sitting MP Virender Kashyap of BJP is pitted against Mohan Lal Brakta of the Congress from this reserved seat, the apple belt of Himachal Pradesh. Both the parties are equally matched this time though the seat has been a traditional Congerss stronghold. But given the problems of the apple farmers and failure of the state and central governments to address those BJP has emerged as favourites after Modi’s rally in Solan.

Hamirpur: Sitting MP Anurag Thakur (BJP) is in a triangular contest versus Rajinder Rana (Congress) and Kamal Kanta Batra (AAP). This is a stronghold of the BJP and Dhumal has ensured it stays that way. CM Virbhadra Singh specially brought Independent MLA Rana in Congress and spent much of his time campaigning here. Batra is the mother of Kargil martyr Vikram Batra, winner of highest gallantry award of the country, Paramvir Chakra. It is BJP all the way here and Congress faces an uphill task.

Mandi: Here the sitting MP Pratibha Singh (Congress) is contesting against political novice Ram Swaroop Sharma (BJP). Mandi is to Congress what Hamirpur is to the BJP, respective strongholds of the two parties. It is extremely difficult for Sharma here even though Narendra Modi addressed a well-attended rally. Congress President Sonia Gandhi too addressed a rally here in favour of Pratibha Singh.

Kangra: It is two-time chief minister Shanta Kumar (BJP) versus Chander Kumar (Cong) and sitting MP Rajan Sushant (AAP). Coming out of retirement, the BJP veteran is contesting his last election and is tipped to be a Cabinet Minister if Modi becomes the Prime Minister. The Congress candidate did not get enough support from his chief minister. Sushant could be a spoiler in some pockets but it is BJP all the way in the constituency. (May 7, 2014)
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Hamirpur— A Tryst with destiny for Virbhadra

  

Amitabh Shukla | Hamirpur

As election campaign comes to an end for the four seats of Himachal Pradesh, battle for the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat is the one to watch out for as this is perhaps the fiercest contest in the tiny hill State where there is action, drama, subterfuge, and involvement of top leaders.

Apart from the candidates who are contesting from here, the political future of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal is at stake. Dhumal’s, son and two-time MP Anurag Thakur, who is also president of the Youth wing of BJP, is pitted against Congress candidate Rajinder Rana.

The third contestant who is grabbing enough eyeballs to increase the worry lines of the main contestants is Aam Aadmi Party candidate Kamal Kanta Batra. She is the mother of Vikram Batra, Kargil martyr and winner of highest gallantry award of the country, Paramir Chakra. She may not win but has stirred a debate in the constituency which sends a large number of soldiers in the Indian army.

BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s use of the word “Ye dil mange more”, immortalised by the Paramvir Chakra winner in a TV interview, in a rally here last week, stirred a controversy.

The AAP candidate could be an electoral distraction but a classical political war is being between Anurag Thakur and Rajinder Rana. For Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, known as Raja Sahib, it is practically a do or die battle. He made Rana resign as an Independent MLA, brought him in Congress and put pressure on the high command to get a ticket for him.

People in the constituency and all Congress supporters say that it is the Chief Minister who is contesting though the name may be of Rana on the EVMs. If Rana loses, it will be the Chief Minister who will have egg on his face as the entire script was written by him. Apart from Virbhadra who has campaigned intensively, his son Vikramaditya Singh, known as Tikka Sahib, too camped in this constituency for days together given its importance and this suggested the seriousness with which the ruling family of the State is taking this constituency.

Similarly, Anurag Thakur may be the BJP candidate and has his own standing in the organisation as the president of the BJYM, but it is his father Prem Kumar Dhumal’s position and pre-eminence in the State BJP which is at stake. Dhumal has put all his political skills in the contest to ensure that his son wins again and makes a hat-trick. Both the father and son have been charge-sheeted in the so called HPCA scam in which land was allotted to the cricketing body and if Dhumal and Thakur succeed, they would have scored a victory in the people’s court.

Interestingly, it is a game of chess in this constituency being played deftly by Virbhadra Singh. He chose Rana as the candidate because he was earlier a close confidante of Dhumal and as a Congress leader put it, “knows the weaknesses of BJP and its top leader inside out.” Before Assembly elections in December 2012, Rana was an Associate member of BJP, was denied a ticket and contested as an Independent and won from Sujanpur. He soon shifted his loyalty to Singh, became an Associate member of Congress supporting the Chief Minister. He resigned from the Assembly to get a Congress Lok Sabha ticket. His wife Anita Rana is contesting from Sujanpur, the seat he vacated after getting Congress ticket.

This subterfuge is not being liked by the people of the constituency. Rana has taken a complete political somersault in less than one and a half years from a supporter of BJP to an independent and then from a supporter of Congress to an outright Congressman. “This is political opportunism at its worst. Voters here are too clever to see the game and they will teach him a lesson,” said, BJP supporter Devinder Thakur in the make-shift party office in Una. His friend Ramesh Thakur adds, “Rana may be popular in one constituency but Lok Sabha election is about 17 Assembly segments”.

BJP has reasons to smile here. Over the years, Dhumal has made it a bastion for the saffron party and since 1989 BJP has won eight elections, including bye-elections. What could be another strong indicator of BJP hold is the fact that of the 17 Assembly segments in this parliamentary constituency, the party holds on to 10 seats. Dhumal has been telling the people of the constituency and the state that if Congress does badly in the State, there is every chance of Virbhadra being replaced. He tells the people to “punish” the Congress so that the vindictive regime of the Raja comes to an end.

On the other hand, the Chief Minister reminds the people about the “misdeeds” of Dhumal and his family and tries to convince the people that they were involved in “land scam” and the entire edifice of HPCA was built illegally.

Hamirpur seems to be the laboratory of the feud between the two big political families of the State. On one hand are Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh and son Vikramiditya Singh and on the other you have Leader of Opposition Dhumal and his two sons — Anurag Thakur and Arun Dhumal. As the polling day approaches, the BJP bastion seems to be consolidating behind the sitting MP. (May 6, 2014)

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‘Want Kangra on World map? Vote for Shanta Kumar'

  

Amitabh Shukla | Kangra

For long Shanta Kumar was the undisputed leader of Himachal Pradesh BJP and is still widely regarded as the archetype of traditional politics in which ideology and clean image are the main assets of a candidate.

He retired from active politics sometime ago but has been persuaded one last time by the Central leadership to contest from Kangra so that the party repeats its performance of 3-1 in 2009 in 2014 polls as well if not 4-0. “If you want Kangra on world map, vote for Shanta as he would be a Cabinet Minister in the Narendra Modi Government,” this is the common refrain of his election managers in the entire constituency. The BJP candidate himself tells the voters to make him victorious one last time.

What Hamirpur is to Prem Kumar Dhumal, Mandi is to Virbhadra Singh, it is Shanta Kumar all the way in not only in Kangra valley but also the upper reaches, surrounded by the magnificent Dhauladhar range snow-peaked mountains. He has been a two-time Chief Minister of the State and one of those leaders who made the party reach every nook and corner of the hill State ever since the Jan Sangh days.

Even though Kumar’s personal integrity and appeal is never questioned even by his Congress rivals, BJP did badly in 2012 Assembly polls in his stronghold. This factor is worrying the party now. Out of the 17 Assembly segments, Congress won 13 and BJP only three. This resounding defeat in Kangra forced BJP to bite dust in the Assembly polls. So, for the 79-year old BJP veteran, it is time for redemption and time to bring back the old glory. In 2013, Kumar and Dhumal were at loggerheads on selection of candidates resulting in several rebels and loss for the BJP. This time, they are united, standing under a common umbrella and that is making Narendra Modi the Prime Minister of the country.

Shanta Kumar is pitted against Chander Kumar of Congress who won in 2004 but lost in 2009. Chander Kumar hails from the OBC community which is in good numbers here unlike other constituencies of the State. The other main castes are Rajputs and Brahmins. But ask the candidates and others and they will tell you that caste was never a factor here nor is it a factor in this election even though the Congress candidate is raising the issue and his caste origins. Shanta Kumar is a Brahmin and so is Rajan Sushant, the Aam Aadmi Party candidate who won the 2009 polls on a BJP ticket. Sushant started targeting the BJP leaders consistently, particularly Prem Kumar Dhumal soon after his victory in the Lok Sabha polls.

In his election meetings, Shanta Kumar says that Sushant is a candidate “hired” by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to target him. He tells the people convincingly that in the 2009 polls, he argued with the central leadership of BJP and got the party ticket for Sushant. Then the veteran says that in the 2012 polls, three factors have ensured that it would be a Modi-led Government in the Centre. According to him, these are “inflation, corruption and black deeds” of the UPA Government. More than the local issue, he is raising the problems which the country is facing and how Modi could solve the problems of the country and Himachal Pradesh.

Interestingly, Kangra is the only constituency in the State where Congress has left its candidate to fend for himself. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has not campaigned the way he has done in other constituencies and neither have the MLAs put all their efforts. In fact, he praised Shanta Kumar repeatedly in his meetings saying he was an honest man. This forced Chander Kumar to approach the Chief Minister saying that if he continued praising his rival, how could the party pose a fight?

“The contribution of Shanta is immense. The drinking water facility in the area was due to his efforts. His public life has been an example for the politicians,” said Naresh Thakur, owner of Thakur Dhaba near the old city of Kangra. Another resident of Palampur, Ujjwal Sharma says the contrast between the three contestants is too stark. “There is no comparison between Shanta Kumar and Chander Kumar. One is there for public service, the other is a professional politician who wants to use this as a launching pad.” Shanta Kumar himself targets the UPA Government in all his speeches, lists its range of corruption and incompetence and weaves a dream for the future of the state and the country under Narendra Modi.

The Congress candidate himself has nothing much to say except that Shanta Kumar has “done nothing” in his years as Chief Minister and Union Minister. Chander Kumar targets former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal and his son Anurag for alleged corruption. He also lists the achievements of the Central Government and promises to bring rail line if a UPA Government is formed. Beyond that he has no promises to make, no plans to share with the people, resulting in a negative campaign.

Despite BJP doing badly in the last Assembly polls from here, getting the veteran Shanta Kumar to contest has given the momentum to the party. Most of those who contested as rebels and those who had joined the Himachal Lokhit Party are now supporting the election efforts of the BJP veteran. “It will only be a miracle which can help the Congress candidate in this election,” summed up a hotelier in Dharamsala. (May 6, 2014)

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Battle shifts to Himachal Pradesh

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

The tiny but beautiful State of Himachal Pradesh has only four Lok Sabha seats and may not play a major role in deciding who will rule from New Delhi for the next four years. But in the recent past, the State has thrown results which have made political parties think and ponder and redraw their political strategy.

Even as the BJP was on a roll nationally, winning one Assembly election after the other in the last four years, Himachal Pradesh remained one exception where it was a setback for the saffron party. It gave a wake-up call for the BJP when it lost the December 2012 Assembly polls despite a national mood against the Congress. Similarly in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, despite the Congress doing well all over north India in States like Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Delhi, it managed to get only one out of the four seats in the State, a setback which was not on expected lines of the party then.

Sixteen months ago, there was a classic case where despite odds, the Congress emerged victorious in Himachal. Everything was going against the Congress and there was nothing which could have practically helped it except anti-incumbency in the State. There was country-wide anger against price rise. Increase in the price of diesel in a State where the entire economy is dependent on road transport had affected all sections. Putting a cap on subsidised LPG cylinders had hit every household. Then, there were serial charges against the Congress-led Central Government on corruption — Commonwealth Games, 2G scam, Coalgate scam and others. If that were not enough, there were specific charges against Virbhadra Singh, the chief ministerial candidate of the party on several counts. The Congress defied traditional wisdom all that was going against it and still managed to win the polls.

But this is not an Assembly poll. The name of Narendra Modi was not being evoked the way it is being now and he had not campaigned in the December 2012 Assembly polls. Moreover, factionalism within the BJP, which was rampant in 2012, is no longer visible in 2014. The two main factions of Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal were pulling each other down then, and now they are united for a common cause.

Under Virbhadra Singh the Congress, on the other hand, has become an election winning machinery in Himachal Pradesh and has a dedicated cadre base. Here, those who are opposed to the BJP are with the Congress and the numbers are huge as no third party alternative has been in the picture for the last four decades. More than the Gandhi family, it is the name of Virbhadra Singh which resonates with the Congress workers and he has built a loyal support base in over last 50 years he has been in public life. At 80, he is a considered a master in the game of politics and is the star campaigner of the Congress in the hill State.

For Virbhadra it is an important battle at the end of his political life. If he does well, he will help his wife and son settle in politics and if he doesn’t, his tenure could be cut short. In the new dispensation of the Congress headed by Rahul Gandhi, the old Congress leader does not fit. He is there only because there is no alternative in the party and Virbhadra still commands the support of a majority of the MLAs.

Himachal Pradesh is unique in several ways. It is practically a two-party system for the last almost four decades. Here, both the BJP and the Congress are seen as occupying the centrist stage. The BJP is not seen as right of the Centre nor is the Congress here seen as slightly left of the Centre as is the position elsewhere in the country. The State is primarily Rajput-Brahmin dominated with the two castes totalling over 60 per cent of the population. Dalits form around 26 per cent and there is no scope for caste, identity or communal politics in the State.

The Dalit identity here is different from that of the plains and they have always voted on issues rather than on caste lines.

Though development is being quoted and cited by both the parties in every election meeting and speech, the word clearly has lost its meaning. People will vote for the party, who uses the word more convincingly and in the campaign, the BJP used the word effectively by making it synonymous with Narendra Modi.

Then, there is politics of vendetta which has become a poll issue. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh targeted the first family of the BJP in the State — Dhumals — effectively. Whether Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association got benefits from the BJP Government or not, Virbhadra has continuously targeted the organisation because it is headed by Anurag Thakur, son of Prem Kumar Dhumal. Being an extremely popular sport in the State, Singh wants to take control of the HPCA by any means — fair or foul. His midnight swoop on the properties of the HPCA and taking them over was disapproved by the High Court. In his previous tenure also, he tried to bring a legislation in the State Assembly to take it over, albeit he was unsuccessful. Now, he has lodged cases against HPCA, Thakur and Dhumal.

Corruption comes next in line as an issue for the polls. The BJP is targeting Virbhadra for his name cropping up in a diary of alleged payments, revising income tax returns manifold, getting money from the proprietor of a company having interest in power sector in the State and also ferrying apples to Parwanno Fruit market on a vehicle which later turned out to be scooters and tankers. Of course, the series of corruption charges against the UPA government are there. The Congress, on the other hand, is focusing on what it calls the “HPCA scam”.

Talk to the political workers in the State and they make an honest and frank assessment. While some see it as 3-1 in favour of BJP, others see it as 2-2, honours shared equally between the two parties. Only May 16 would show, whether the State goes with the national trend or drifts differently. (May 5, 2014) 

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/2014-05-04-49968.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/battle-shifts-to-himachal-pradesh.html

It’s’ an ‘Aam Aadmi’ VS Royalty battle in Mandi

Amitabh Shukla | Mandi

Royalty could be a passé and Kings and Queens confined to the history books but in Mandi, it is the other way round. Ever since the seat was carved out six decades ago, it has been a stronghold of royal families.

The reverence of the people of this vast constituency towards royalty has ensured a relatively easy outing for Pratibha Singh, the wife of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the erstwhile ruler of Rampur-Bushehar. While Virbhadra Singh is known in the entire State as Raja Sahib, the Congress candidate and his wife is Rani Sahiba and their 23-year -old son Vikramaditya Singh is Tikka Sahib.

In this belt no one calls the three by their names. They are only known as Raja Sahib, Rani Sahiba and Tikka Sahib. In fact, there is no attempt by the trio to shrug off this baggage of royalty and the suffix of Sahib and Sahiba are integral to their personality as they know that this is what pays electorally in the region.

Pitted against Pratibha Singh is actually a commoner in the real sense, a typical aam aadmi, who is fighting the royalty on a BJP ticket and not that of Arvind Kejriwal’s party. Ram Swaroop Sharma is the quintessential commoner, who has never contested an election, got the party ticket by default and is from the RSS. His entire campaign is based on the tales of “Raja (they) and Runk (we)”, the King and the commoner and tells the people that the days of royalty were over long time back and they need to vote for a common man. This appeal is finding some resonance amongst the youth, particularly the first time voters.

“Former kings and queens can never feel what the common people of the constituency want and need. They are only into false promises and forget the people after winning the polls,” he repeats in almost all his elections meetings. Like other BJP candidates, another name which he invokes in every meeting is that of Narendra Modi. “People of the country and Mandi want to see him as the Prime Minister. They will vote for a better future of their children, their country and their state,” he hoped.

Pratibha Singh won a bye-election less than a year ago in June last year after her husband became the Chief Minister and vacated the seat. Her victory margin over the BJP candidate was an impressive 1.36 lakh votes and even the critics of the Congress admit that despite a Modi wave in the country, it would be quite a task for the BJP novice to bridge this huge gap. Though the BJP prime ministerial candidate addressed a well attended rally here on April 29 at the Padal Grounds but at best many here think that this could reduce the margin of victory of Pratibha Singh.

Despite being on a strong wicket, the 57-year old, Rani Sahiba is not taking the polls lightly and has been campaigning for well over a month now. She is being supported by her husband and son on and off but is on her own in the tough terrain of the constituency, many areas of which are still snow covered and difficult to reach. She reminds the people about what the Congress Government has done in the State and how an IIT and medical college came in the constituency due to their efforts.

For her, development is the only mantra and she hardly talks about the central leaders of her party.Being a woman, she refers to the commitment of 33 per cent reservation of her part but has not made the election personality centric. “We have always done the politics of development and our campaign is not personality oriented,” she said, in a contact program near the temple city of Mandi.

The Congress candidate occasionally refers to the “Rights” which the UPA Government brought but mostly talks about the local issues and promises a paradigm shift in welfare politics. She also lists the steps she initiated in her short tenure and that of her husband before her. Interestingly, even as BJP was facing a problem of plenty in rest of the country, the biggest problem for the party on this seat was to find a suitable candidate. It declared Sharma’s name only when it could not find anyone else to take on the Rani Sahiba. Sharma’s name was last off the block in Himachal Pradesh and that conveyed the message loud and clear that it was not the candidate but BJP contesting and trying to cash in on the “Modi wave”.

Like in the other four seats of Himachal Pradesh, Mandi too has 17 Assembly segments and is dominated by the Rajputs (40 per cent), Brahmins (28 per cent) and SC (22 per cent). Unlike the Hindi heartland, caste has never been a factor in Himachal Pradesh as the two main parties have support cutting across caste lines. As the campaign is coming to an end, BJP workers are telling the people that Pratibha Singh is contesting merely to keep the seat warm for her 23-year old son Vikramaditya, who cannot contest the polls due to the age factor.

The last minute thrust has taken the sheen out of the Congress candidate but given the past trend, support base of her party and royal image, she has reasons to feel confident. (May 5, 2014) 

It’s Modi versus Virbhadra in Himachal

Amitabh Shukla | Shimla

It is Narendra Modi versus Virbhadra Singh in Himachal Pradesh. It may come as a surprise but that is the way election for the four Lok Sabha seats are being fought in this hilly State, known for its scenic beauty, tourism and of course, apples.

Even as the bigger plot and the battle is between the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP and the State Chief Minister, there are sub-plots in which former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur play key roles and have become the punching bags of Singh.

Dhumal and Thakur have made it well known that it is a battle between Modi and Virbhadra and the voters are wise to make a choice between the two. They point out that elections are being fought for the next Government in the country and Himachal Pradesh has to play its role in installing Modi to reap the dividends of Gujarat style development. They invoke the name of Modi in whatever they say, in every election speech they make and whatever dream they sell to the people of the State.

Dhumal has addressed over 275 meetings in the State so far and in all of them, he has counted on the virtues of the Gujarat Chief Minister and how the State would become sort of an extension of Gujarat in development parameters if Modi were to occupy the Prime Minister’s chair in New Delhi. The other point which he makes is the autocratic style of functioning of the Chief Minister, his politics of vendetta and no work in the State ever since the Congress came to power after the assembly polls in December 2012. In making it Modi versus Virbhadra, Dhumal says if the people make a choice, there is no comparison between the two.

On the contrary, Virbhadra Singh too is obsessed with Modi. In every election speech, he counters Dhumal and BJP asserting that there is no “Modi wave” anywhere in the country and Himachal Pradesh. Despite being 80, he has so far addressed almost 300 big and small election meetings in the State to canvass support for his party. Even his critics in Congress admit that but for the election management skills of Virbhadra and his loyal support base, the party would not have been even in reckoning.

For Dhumal, it is only Narendra Modi. “There is a Modi wave in the country and Himachal Pradesh. It will blow away 10 years of corruption and nepotism of the Congress rule in the Centre. In Bihar, Lalu Prasad (an ally of Congress) carried fodder on scooters and in Himachal, Virbhadra carried apples worth Rs 1 crore on scooters and tankers to Parwanoo,” Dhumal told the audience in a series of rally in Mandi.

This is what he tells in every meeting. Dhumal, a two-time Chief Minister of the State and now a Leader of Opposition, also reminds the audience about the threat to internal and external security of the country, lists the scams of the UPA Government, and questions its neeti and neeyat (policy and intentions). He brings in Virbhadra Singh time and again as a symbol of corruption and nepotism and says he represents all that is bad in the Congress.

His main rival in State politics, Virbhadra Singh is perhaps one of the oldest serving politicians of the Congress in the country who first won a Lok Sabha election over five decades ago in 1962 and has even seen first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru working as a young first time MP. Also a six-time Chief Minister, over a period of half a century, he has developed a fiercely loyal following in State politics which is independent of the party he represents. That is perhaps the reason why the party cannot look beyond him in the state and brought him as the Chief Minister in December 2012 despite serious corruption charges against him.

He has made this election a Virbhadra Singh versus Modi in the State and Rahul Gandhi is no match to his popularity in the State where he knows every hill, hillock, road, turn and bend on the road and of course in every village he knows at least one person by the first name. More than what he has done, it is the connect with the people which endears him to the masses along with royal lineage, belonging from Rampur Bushehar estate.

“No one bothers about Modi in the State. In fact, people from Gujarat come to Himachal Pradesh to seek jobs. No one in Himachal is voting in the name of Modi and it is funny to note when people say that there is Modi wave,” Virbhadra told an election meeting in upper Shimla, just after Modi addressed three election rallies in the State.

Singh also targets Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur in all the election meetings and mass contact programmes. “They indulged in corruption and land scam. HPCA (Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association) was given land for a song and everyone knows that it is the personal fiefdom of Dhumal and Anurag Thakur,” he alleges in his meetings. Inquiries are on in the cases which Virbhadra dubs as “land grab”.

As Modi versus Virbhadra Singh battle unfolds in the state where it is practically a two-party system for decades, victory and loss for each and every candidate of the two main parties is expected to be close. It is being fought fiercely, in every town, every hill station, every village and is down to every man and every woman.  (May 4, 2014)  

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/its-modi-versus-virbhadra-in-himachal.html

Political temperature increases in Shimla

Amitabh Shukla | Shimla

As you drive up the hills, you can see plenty of revellers from the plains of Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana either accompanying you, ahead of you or following you in all sorts of vehicles. They obviously want to escape from the heat to the cool climes of the Queen of Hill stations, the summer Capital of British Raj — Shimla.

Even though you still require half sleeve sweaters in Shimla, the political temperature in the State Capital has increased many notches. The star campaigners may be missing Shimla, campaigning as they are in other parts of the State, but almost everyone here is talking about the poll battle. The discussion at the Ridge, Mall Road and the Indian Coffee House invariably boils down to the question — who will become the next Prime Minister of the country?

Elections have already been held in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi — considered the catchment area for the tourism industry of Shimla and Himachal Pradesh. So the tourists from these areas merely ask the dhaba owner or those sitting near the tea stall about the trend in Himachal Pradesh and the ‘Modi wave’. They tell the tourists about the problems which Shimla city is facing and how they will vote for those who promise to solve them.

“This is a city designed for twenty-five thousand people by the British. Now the population is around 2.5 lakh. In fact, there are around 31 thousand registered vehicles here now,” said Avtar Singh, a Sikh, who runs a small general store in Lower Bazar. He says he bought a car a year ago and struggles everyday to park it after closing shop to reach is house in Sanjauli, around five kms away. “Why doesn’t the Government put a blanket ban on purchase of vehicles by Shimla residents?” asks Avtar, insisting that solving the parking mess was the biggest challenge for Shimla at this point.

Avtar Singh is not alone who detests politicians from promising the moon but not delivering. His neighbour is Santosh Thakur, who has a tea stall and also sells cheap and good quality stuffed paranthas. “Just look around Shimla. On 10 km either side from the heart of the city, you will only find vehicles lined on the roads. There is no space and no attempt is being made to create parking space for locals,” he said, adding that the charge of Rs 200 for 24 hours of parking cannot be paid by the locals.

Deputy Mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation Tikendra Panwar merely says that parking facilities are being created. But the bigger problem which the locals insist is the refusal of repeat tourists to come to the State capital. “Once you come to Shimla on your car and fail to find a parking, you simply leave the city never to come back. This has started affecting us and we no longer have the type of peak season we used to have earlier,” said, Ramesh Negi, a newspaper vendor, who sits all day near the historic Municipal office on Mall Road to sell newspapers and magazines.

Both the BJP candidate Virendra Kashyap and his Congress rival Mohan Lal Brakta are promising that they will “look into the issue.” But the locals know that Shimla town is a small part of the entire constituency having 17 Assembly segments and around 11.5 lakh voters and the two candidates are not serious. As polling day, May 7 approaches, both the BJP and Congress are equally matched here as out of 17 Assembly seats, BJP has seven while Congress holds on to eight. The remaining two seats are with Independents and as per tradition, they are supporting the ruling party.

Shimla is the only reserved seat in the State with SC population of 35 per cent. The Rajputs too are 35 per cent while 23 per cent are Brahmins Virender Kashyap, 63, of BJP won for the first time in 2009 after several losses from the seat. He is banking on “Modi wave” and only talks about Narendra Modi in his campaign. Not surprisingly, Congress candidate Mohan Lal Brakta, 48, MLA from Rohru, rubbishes all claims that there was a “Modi wave”. He talks about Virbhadra Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in his election speeches and meetings. (May 4, 2014) 

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/political-temperature-increases-in-shimla.html

When apples decide candidates’ fate!

Amitabh Shukla | Shimla  

The humble apple is not only the mainstay of the economy in several pockets of the upper hills but has now also become a big election issue here in Himachal Pradesh. The Rs4,000 crore apple business of the State is under threat from foreign imports and whoever stops this unceremonious invasion gets the votes of the horticulturists.

All those who have a stake in the apple business of the State-horticulturists, experts, workers, transporters, middlemen and those in the apple mandis were eagerly waiting what BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi says on the flooding of foreign apples in the Indian market. He raised the issue in his speech in Solan early this week and promised that if NDA came to power, the import duty would be raised significantly to help protect the domestic apple growers.

Even as Modi raised the issue, termed it as a problem and gave suggestions as to what his Government would do, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi preferred to overlook the concerns of the horticulturists of the State, mainly the apple growers and all those who are involved in its trade.

In his speech in Solan two days after that of Modi, Gandhi talked about all kinds of “Right” but not that of the apple growers.

“We were keenly waiting for the speeches of the two prime ministerial candidates to see what they have in their plate for the apple growers of the State. Perhaps no one told Rahul that in five to six Assembly segments of Shimla and a few pockets in Mandi constituency, the apple economy decides the fate of the candidates,” said Sunder Lal, a prominent horticulturist from Theog, the heartland of apples in Upper Shimla.

The apple growers and all those dependent on their livelihood on the crop, are veering towards the BJP and Modi’s rally boosted the chances of the sitting MP from the constituency, Virendra Kashyap. Contrarily, despite local Congress leaders listing steps which the Virbhadra Singh Government has taken in the last 16 months for them, the party is losing out. “We have seen a verbal commitment from Modi, there is no such assurance from Rahul,” said, Santosh Chauhan, an apple grower from near Narkanda.

BJP leader and former Horticulture minister Narendra Bragta challenged the Congress to list the steps taken, if any, for the apple farmers of the State who are facing a severe onslaught of apples from China, United States and New Zealand. “Immediate steps are required to be taken to save the farmers,” he said.

While remunerative price has been a long and consistent demand, horticulturists now say that the import duty which is 49 per cent at present on apples should be raised to 150 per cent to drive out the foreign apples from China and USA. “Congress in its election manifesto had promised 150 per cent import duty on imported apples but has not taken a single step despite being in power for 16 months,” said Chetram, BJP leader who gives inputs to the party on a regular basis on the woes of the apple growers.

Some farmers in the State had high hopes from Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, who hails from Himachal Pradesh. “It seems he hails from Delhi and not Himachal,” said another grower, adding that in both the state and the Centre, there are Congress governments but nothing was done to mitigate the woes of those involved in production and distribution of apples.

To face the onslaught of foreign apples, farmers also want a reduction in the commission which they have to pay if they sell their produce through the organised mandis of the State and elsewhere. In Delhi’s Azadpur fruit and vegetable market, the commission is 8 per cent, which is quite high. “The commission agents are getting richer at the cost of the farmers. This is happening at a time when the demand of Himachali apples is coming down and foreign apples growing,” said Chetram.

Interestingly, the war on apples is taking place in Himachal when Vidya Stokes is the Horticulture Minister.

Her grandfather Satyanand Stokes, an American who converted to Hinduism, brought apple plants from USA to India and not only settled down here but also gave tips to an entire generation on apple cultivation. The Stokes family and apples have become synonymous in the State as harbinger of modernity in cultivation.

Apple growers are also peeved at the bad roads in state in upper parts. They say that while transporting bad roads take a toll on the apples and they get damaged. The middlemen in the mandis then reduce the prices of apples per box saying the quality is not good.

“How can you have such roads in the hills?” asked Chauhan, a regular from Theog and Narkanda to the State capital Shimla on NH-22.

Congress spokesperson Naresh Chauhan does not agree with the BJP saying the State Government is proactive and apple growers are on top of the priority list. He said Government was giving 80 per cent subsidy to the farmers on purchase of anti hail nets and there were several schemes for the farmers. He said cold storages were being built to increase the shelf life of the crop. But there were few takers for the assertions. (May 3, 2014) 

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/when-apples-decide-candidates-fate.html

BJP only uses 'Me' while Cong uses 'We': Rahul

 

Amitabh Shukla | Solan

After the successful rallies of Narendra Modi in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress replied effectively on Thursday with two back-to-back rallies of party vice president Rahul Gandhi at Bilaspur in Hamirpur constituency and Solan in Shimla constituency.

Being more of a show of strength as Modi had addressed a massive rally here only two days ago, the Congress had mobilised all its resources to ensure maximum presence at the grounds of the Police Lines here in Solan, ensuring a massive traffic snarl on the serpentine hill road connecting State Capital Shimla to the plains. The picturesque ground was full to the capacity and youth dominated the audience even as vehicles mounted with loudspeakers roamed all around Solan asking people to “benefit” from the words of Gandhi.

Despite the hype and mobilisation, Gandhi did not say anything which he has not said in his rallies all over the country, he nevertheless linked Modi with RSS and accused the organisation of a regressive ideology in his two rallies.

“This is a clash of two ideologies. Our thinking is to take everyone along, we think about a Hindustani, they (BJP) think about other divisions... They only use the word “me” while Congress uses the word “we”. Congress talks to everybody, they do not do so,” said the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty on a bright sunny day. The Himachalis listened with rapt attention, occasionally applauding.

Gandhi also brought in his oft-repeated accusation against the alleged links of Modi with the Adani group and how land was given to it for a song, forgetting that land acquisition was hardly a poll issue in Himachal Pradesh as it is a hilly State and large scale acquisition was not possible except for power projects.

The connect of Gandhi with the people whom he was addressing was clearly missing even as most those who had come to the venue were Congress supporters brought in all types of vehicles from far-off regions of the State, including from the tribal areas of Kinnaur and even Lahaul and Spiti. The local leaders who had brought in the bus load of people proudly displayed their banners and names to take the mileage as Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was there and so was Youth Congress president Vikramaditya Singh. A lot of them were disappointed as Gandhi did not touch on the issue of remunerative prices for apples and taking steps against imported apples which people from the upper hills wanted to hear.

A group in the rally was carrying the banner of ex-servicemen and when Gandhi brought in the issue of One-rank-one-pension, there was a buzz and some excitement in this group. With armed forces a sought after career option in Himachal Pradesh, the issue also jelled with the volunteers of the youth Congress,

some of whom wanted to join the services.

But clearly, the local connect and highlighting local issues was missing from both the rallies as he merely focused on the issues being raked up by the party nationally.

“You have a Congress Government in Himachal Pradesh. If you also have a Congress Government at the Centre, there can be an effective partnership. We will extend all possible help for Himachal’s progress. Support Congress and elect our candidates to forge a good partnership and to transform Himachal Pradesh,” he said. This was perhaps the only statement of Gandhi which pertained to Himachal Pradesh.

The Congress vice president again harped on the “Rights” which the UPA Government brought in the last 10 years and said if voted to power, the party would bring in right to health and right to minimum pension for the elderly.

Gandhi claimed that Congress would push 70 crore people in the middle class in the next five years. “We gave you right to food, we want to give more…” Gandhi continued in one of the most prosperous States of the country, where not many would utilise the freebies which the UPA Government has been doling out and promising.

In Shimla, Congress candidate Mohan Lal Brakta is pitted against sitting BJP MP Virendra Kashyap.

It is a traditional Congress stronghold but BJP has made massive gains in recent years and won it after a long gap in 2009. Locals here say that the electoral battle in this reserved seat, comprising a huge geographical area, is tantalisingly close as Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has put in a lot of effort in campaigning despite his age. (May 2, 1014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/bjp-only-uses-me-while-cong-uses-we-rahul.html

 http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/bjp-only-uses-me-while-cong-uses-we-rahul.html