The ruling Congress and the opposition BJP in Himachal Pradesh are gearing up for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, streamlining strategies, identifying issues and mobilizing their workers.
The Congress party met in Shimla on Tuesday under the leadership of Pradesh Congress Committee President, Pratibha Singh with Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu were also present.
The party decided to take the issue of the Centre’s cold shoulder to Himachal Pradesh in the worst ever natural calamity last Monsoons and state BJP’s indifference to the suffering of people amid this crisis, along with the state government’s achievements in one year, to the Lok Sabha poll pitch.
The BJP, in its meeting in Una on Sunday, decided to bank on the achievements of the Modi government in the Centre and the failure of the state government in fulfilling poll guarantees in the timeline it stated during the Assembly elections in 2022.
The meeting of state BJP leaders was headed by HP BJP President, Dr Rajiv Bindal in the presence of national BJP general secretary, Dushyant Gautam.
Both Congress and BJP have been vocal about the Ram Mandir also in the run-up to the 22 January event in Ayodhya and are set to make it a part of their election campaign.
Hitting out at BJP, the Congress said that Ram is not the personal belonging of any political party.
“Himachal Pradesh is a land of Gods and 98% of the population here is of Hindus. The people have been worshipping Ram for centuries and following his ideals,” said the Congress leaders in the meeting.
Congress President, Pratibha Singh said that the party had not stopped any Congressman from going to Ayodhya or participating in any related programme.
Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said over the past year, the state BJP has acted against the interests of the state.
“The BJP leaders did not support the state government in getting relief money from the Centre in the wake of massive damage in the unprecedented natural calamity last year. They created hurdles on the issue of water cess and hydro projects,’’ said Sukhu.
The Congress party decided that the ministers would visit every assembly constituency in the state at least four times before the polls.
The party discussed that the government’s ‘Sarkar Gaon ke Dwar’ scheme that began today will also serve the purpose of taking the government policies and achievements to the people.
The BJP, on the other hand, has expedited its activities in the field and is focussing on strengthening the organizational functioning to the booth level in the entire state.
The party leaders said the Congress party was confused over the stance on the 22 January event in Ayodhya—Some Congressmen are saying they will go, and some say they will not go.
‘’The Congress party is playing politics over it,” the BJP said.
State BJP president, Dr. Rajiv Bindal, who inaugurated the ‘Wall writing programme’ of BJP in the state earlier this week, said wall writing with the slogan ‘Ek Baar Phir Se Modi Sarkar’ would be done at every booth in the state.
He said the BJP’s objective of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas, Sabka Vishwas’ will achieve new dimensions.
The party president said the Congress government in Himachal had been misguiding people of the state over the last year and was blowing its trumpet on poll guarantees.
“The Congress government is lying. It has neither given one lakh jobs to the youth in the first year nor fulfilled the guarantee of giving Rs 1500 per month to the women in the state. There are many other guarantees which it never talked about. It will be a major issue in elections,’’ said Dr. Bindal.
He said the BJP leaders and workers would strengthen their ‘Jan Sampark’ by reaching out to people in every nook and corner of the state in the coming days to repeat the 2014 and 2019 performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in HP.
Himachal Pradesh has four Lok Sabha seats. The BJP won all four seats in 2014 and then in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. However, the Congress wrested one Mandi seat from BJP in a by-election in 2021, which had fallen vacant due to the demise of sitting BJP MP, Ram Swaroop Sharma.
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