Shimla: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his rally in Mandi declared that Congress government days in Himachal Pradesh are numbered. Home Minister Amit Shah announced at Una ‘lotus will bloom in the state soon’ and the energy in the BJP cadres doubled in the campaign, both at Mandi –where the party has fielded Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut and Hamirpur---a constituency seeing Union Minister Anurag Thakur’s rise on the political horizon of the country. Barely a few days left for the election, the election campaign seems to have reached the peak with top leaders and star campaigners thronging the hills.
But ask Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu if he is worried about the fate of his government after June 4—when the results of the general elections will be out along with six Assembly bypolls in the state, he declares, “even if the BJP wins all six Assembly bypolls, nothing will happen to the government. The number of BJP MLAs in that case will rise to 31 and we are 34. The Congress is going to emerge stronger after the poll. All six Congress rebels – sold-out and disqualified MLAs, will be sitting back at home losing the poll”.
That describes the poll battle in Himachal Pradesh—a state with four Lok Sabha seats, three of these with the BJP and one represented by the Congress.Whatever could be the outcome of the general elections, it’s the state Assembly bypoll, which matters more.
The Congress had come to power, winning 40 seats in the 2022 and the BJP tally dropping down to 25 even after slogans like “ Rivaaz badlega” (the custom of alternating government will change). Yet, with 14 months the Congress got a jolt losing Rajya Sabha seat to BJP through cross voting and later, also a turmoil in the party and disqualification of six MLAs.