The BJP is hoping to buck the trend of alternative governments with ‘Raj Nahin, Riwaaz Badlenge’ (not rule, but will change the custom) slogan.
Himachal Pradesh will vote on November 12 to elect a new government. With the elections just four days away, the poll fever has gripped the hill state which is witnessing high-pitched poll campaigns.
The state has traditionally witnessed a bipolar contest between the BJP and Congress, but this time the entry of Aam Aadmi Party has turned it into a three-cornered battle. Still, political experts are seeing this a direct contest between the two parties who have been ruling the state alternatively.
While the Congress is trying to build up its campaign on ‘Himachal ka Sankalp, Congress is Vikalp’, the BJP is hoping to buck the trend of alternative governments with ‘Raj Nahin, Riwaaz Badlenge’ (not rule, but will change the custom) slogan.
The trend since 1971
Notably, the hill state has not repeated any government since its formation in 1971, with the only exception of 1985 when late Virbhadra Singh of the Congress opted for mid-term polls, about two years ahead of the schedule, to encash the pro-Congress wave after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984.
In 1985, the Congress won 58 out of 68 Assembly seats while the BJP got seven and Virbhadra Singh was appointed as the chief minister. In 1990, the BJP turned the tables and won 46 seats to come to power with Shanta Kumar succeeding Virbhadra Singh.
However, his tenure could not last five years as the President’s rule was imposed in 1992 in the aftermath of Babri demolition. When the Assembly elections were held in 1993, Congress returned to power winning 52 seats and Virbhadra Singh came back to power for a second term as chief minister.
In the 1998 Assembly polls, the BJP and Congress bagged 31 seats each but the saffron party managed to form the government with the help of Himachal Vikas Congress. Prem Kumar Dhumal was named the chief minister.
The same pattern continued in 2003 polls when Congress returned to power winning 43 seats and Virbhadra Singh was named chief minister. The BJP seized the power again bagging 41 seats in 2007 election.
In 2012, Congress formed the government with 36 MLAs while the BJP got two-thirds majority in 2017 election winning 44 seats.
It will be interesting to watch whether the BJP changes the trend like it did in Uttarakhand earlier this year.
Poll promises - Revdi politics
The Congress is banking on the prevailing trend and issues like price rise and unemployment, and the legacy of Virbhadra Singh to stage a comeback. It is promised to revive the old pension scheme and give 1 lakh government jobs. To woo women, who form 48 per cent of the electorate, the party has promised Rs 1,500 per month to each of them aged between 18 and 60. It has also promised 300 units of free electricity.
The BJP, on the other hand, has promised Uniform Civil Code (UCC), 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs and educational institutions, and sops for different segments.
A mix of Hindutva, development and welfare promises underpinned the 'sankalp patra', with BJP chief JP Nadda also releasing a separate manifesto for women, a voting segment where measures like free grains, cooking gas connections and toilets have drawn favourable response for the BJP in different polls.
It has also promised creation of 8 lakh jobs, including government, cycles for girl students in classes six to 12th and scooters for girls pursuing higher education and five new medical colleges if his party retained power. A new BJP government will also order a survey of Waqf properties to prevent their "illegal" use.
The AAP has promised Rs 3000 unemployment allowance for youth, 6 lakh government jobs, grant of Rs 10 lakh to panchayats, free pilgrimage for the elderly, and better prices for farm produce among others.
Candidate selection
The grand old party Congress is trusting its old warhorses to leave behind greenhorns to win the November 12 electoral race.
In comparison, the state ruling BJP has largely discarded its veterans and reposed faith on comparatively younger faces with the slogan 'rivaj badlega' (electoral traditions will change), meaning to buck the trend to sweep the polls alternatively as both arch rivals ruled the state from 1985.
The BJP has denied the party ticket to 11 sitting legislators, shifting seats of two ministers, denying nomination to one minister, whose son has been fielded from that constituency, and swapping seats of two veterans owing to infighting.
The grand old party, which is trying to build up its ground on slogan 'Himachal ka Sankalp, Congress hi Vikalp' (For Himachal's resolve, the Congress is the only alternative), has retained all its 20 outgoing lawmakers.
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