By Vishal Gulati Shimla 11th of September : The brigade of soldiers in saffron are relying on their general to win the election fight for their cause in Himachal Pradesh.
With the powerful winds of anti-incumbency The BJP management in the state, led by the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur seems banking on the Prime Minister’s “charisma” instead of flashing its own achievements card.
The party will be holding an all-public gathering of Modi on the 24th of September The first of the three rallies scheduled ahead of the announcement of the election, in Mandi town, the home town of Modi, who is the Chief Minister of India with an anticipated crowd of more than one lakh young people.
Usually in every public gathering, Thakur, who is currently on a in-person inauguration tour, visiting every corner of the state will not miss an chance to remind people of PM Modi’s unique bond with and love towards the citizens of the state in which he was for a short period as the head of the affairs of the state in the latter part of the 90s.
Being nostalgic by speaking frequently in the dialect of the area and even the Premier Modi in his public speeches expressed his feelings about his emotional bond and relationship with the state which he claims has had a positive influence in shaping and guiding his life.
“The Prime Minister has consistently offered his blessing on Himachal by providing a myriad of projects for development in the last five years.
The reason is his charisma, and his relationship he has with the locals with the population that the state BJP will depend on to stay in the power,” senior Cabinet minister Suresh Bhardwaj said to IANS on Saturday.He addedthat “What could be incorrect in seeking votes in the title of the “pradhan sevak” who dedicated his entire life to the wellbeing of citizens and the good governance of.”
Modi last visited the state on May 31, to address the beneficiaries of the Central government’s plans to commemorate the 8th anniversary of his administration of the historic Ridge — which was once the promenade of the British colonial rulers at the time Shimla was their capital city during summer.
He will be visiting the hill state once more on the 24th of September.
This time he will be visiting Mandi the district with 10 assembly segments, which is the second-highest in the state, to begin the BJP’s campaign for elections scheduled for the end of this year’s Assembly, which is governed by the BJP.
Prior to that, he addressed a rally in Mandi on the 27th of December 2021, in celebration of the 4th anniversary of the state government.
According to Bhardwaj the state legislator from Shimla, in the last five years, there has been a double-engine administration in both the state and the Centre and the speed of development and execution of schemes has been increasing.
“Himachal proposes projects” and the Centre approves the project.
Recently the Centre approved a large drug park for Himachal which is a huge achievement for a tiny state.There are a variety of schemes and projects that Himachal has benefited from.If I discuss urban development, Shimla and Dharamsala have been able to benefit from the Smart City Mission while AMRUT-I and AMRUT-II have been implemented for other cities.”
“Not only that Modi-ji is also wearing a Himachali cap when he travels abroad on his travels, which also marks the state around the world,” an optimistic Bhardwaj added.
For the Chief Minister Thakur who is younger than Modi, Himachal is the second home of “our Prime Minister” and he is always eager to go there”.
Thanking Modi for approving a large drug park in Haroli Tehsil of Una district Thakur, in full newspaper ads last week, stated that Himachal is the sole northern state to be granted this highly acclaimed project.
“The bulk drug park is not going to just increase the rate of industrialization in the state, but will also create opportunities for employment which will result in an increase in the economic prosperity of the entire region.” stated Thakur.
In addition to Himachal Pradesh, housing Asia’s largest pharmaceutical hub The Department of Pharmaceuticals has given “in principle” approval to plans for pharmaceutical parks in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
Thakur in an interview with IANS said it was due to the double-engine government that the state has six medical colleges run by the government as well as one in the private sector, in addition to the successful completion of the Atal Tunnel and sanctioning a PGIMER Satellite Centre in Una and AIIMS in Bilaspur.
He said that the government is spending more than Rs 1,300 crore annually to provide social security pensions to the most in need as compared to just 400 crores allocated by the state’s previous government.
“Our HIMCARE, Sahara Yojna, Ghrihini Suvidha Yojna and Shagun Yojna have provided much-needed help to the homeless and the poor,” he added.
Thakur said that the Prime Minister had visited the state seven times.”Under his direction, we will begin campaigning for elections with renewed enthusiasm,” he said while inaugurating a number of development initiatives in his Seraj assembly constituency in Mandi district on Friday.
Political observers have told IANS that the main goal of Modi’s rally on September 24 in advance of the Assembly elections, scheduled later in the year and is to maintain his party’s “double engine government’ on the right track by reiterating the achievements the state was able to achieve through the welfare schemes of the Centre.
The aim is to make the event one of the largest gatherings of the Prime Minister the the state BJP head Suresh Kashyap has told IANS that more than 1 lakh people who are under 40 years old of 40 will be attending the rally.
“Youths on the level of booths will be able to take part in the rally and others will also be able to join online,” he said.
In spite of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) trying to gain ground ahead of the elections the political situation in Himachal Pradesh seems so vastly bipolar an ongoing battle between two arch rivals of the past – the Congress and the BJP.
Himachal Pradesh was traditionally dominated by the Congress and was the first state to have a chief minister who was not a member of Congress, Shanta Kumar, in 1977 when the Janata Party came to power.
The Congress has appointed its former three-time MP Pratibha Singh, widow of the chief minister of six times Virbhadra Singh as the state unit’s chief in April.
Contrary to her husband, who was a direct contact to the people at the bottom, Pratibha Singh has spearheaded the campaign for the polls in bid to take over the current Jai Ram Thakur-led government declaring that people are extremely unhappy with the government’s poor performance.
She is often blamed by the BJP for relying on the popularity of Modi to get the vote since it did nothing to improve the welfare of the people.
The Congress is betting on its pledge to revive the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) that will provide 225,000 workers, a vital vote bank.
The Congress is relying on an anti-incumbency wave that will sway the current regime.
It was able to win three seats in the National Assembly and one parliament seat in the November 2021 by-polls.
Chief Minister Thakur believes in good government with no corruption is crucial for economic growth.
Also, no witch hunts are the keystones to his success.Unprecedented growth will remain the main plank of the party’s campaign for the upcoming elections.
The BJP had gained an overwhelming majority in the 2017 Assembly elections with 44 seats in the 68-member Assembly.
(Vishal Gulati may be reached via [email protected])
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