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PM in Mandi: BJP bets big on Narendra Modi magic
As PM Narendra Modi looks set to kick start the BJP’s poll campaign in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, CM’s home-turf Mandi has turned into a new battlefield for the political parties in the state
With elections drawing nearer in Himachal Pradesh, the politics have heated up in the hill state. The ruling incumbent BJP is trying to achieve a ‘mission repeat’ while Congress is desperate to regain power in the state. Amidst all the slugfest is AAP which is trying to make it a triangular contest for the first time in the state’s history.
Mandi—the population-wise second biggest district and home turf of chief minister Jai Ram Thakur- is turning out to be a new nerve centre of politics in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to kick start the BJP’s poll campaign officially on Saturday with a rally which has already drawn sharp criticism from both Congress and AAP.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Admi Party (AAP) was the first to choose Mandi to kick start its election campaign. Kejriwal along with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann held an impressive road show in Mandi on April 7 in the town, making it clear that his party is determined to expand its footprint in the long-entrenched bipolar politics of the state. The AAP appears ready to take on both the BJP and Congress.
After Kangra, Mandi has always been the most politically active region from the time when the Congress faction led by Thakur Karam Singh challenged the then chief minister YS Parmar and later Union telecom minister Sukhram emerged as a force to reckon with in Himachal and national politics.
Sukhram remained a challenger to Virbhadra Singh’s leadership and even played a vital role in the formation of the BJP government in 1998, with his Himachal Vikas Congress lending crucial support to the saffron party, which had fallen short of the majority.
Mandi gained more prominence after Jai Ram Thakur, a five-time legislator from Seraj (earlier Chachiyot) whom the party chose as the chief minister.
It was again a focal point recently after Congress stalwart Virbhadra Singh’s widow Pratibha Singh won the Lok Sabha by-poll against all odds.
Meanwhile, Congress and AAP have trained guns on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in advance of his visit to Mandi, reminding him of his promises which have remained unfulfilled.
AICC in-charge of Himachal Rajeev Shukla, and spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Rathore in a joint press conference held in New Delhi sought answers from the Prime Minister over his unfulfilled promise.
Shukla said the PM would address a rally of youth in Mandi, but he is been misled by the state government. He said the youth of Himachal was the worst hit by unemployment, and over 5.20 lakh young people were jobless in the state. He said Himachal’s contribution was about 4% in the Indian Army, but the Agnipath scheme was going to hurt the recruitment. He said before his rally the PM must seek answers from the state government on the unemployment and increasing debt burden of the state. “Himachal’s debt burden has increased by 50% in the BJP regime,” he said.
Raising the issue of apple growers, Rathore said before the 2014 elections the PM had promised of increasing the import duty on foreign apples to 100% but the promise was never fulfilled. He said the PM had also announced that aerated drink manufacturers like Coke and Pepsi will be asked to add 5% of fruit concentrate to their products, but that too turned out to be a false promise, he said.
He also sought to know whether PM will take note of the exploitation of apple growers by the Gautam Adani-owned company. On the other hand, the AAP posed six questions to PM Modi on the issues of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), unemployment, the rising debt of the state, education, health and farmers.
AAP president Surjeet Singh Thakur said PM Modi had promised 2 crore jobs to the youth of India. However, unemployment in the country was at its peak, and even Himachal has an army of 10 lakh jobless.
He said the debt burden of Himachal was rising relentlessly while the education and health sectors were in shambles.
PM Modi should also answer why farmers have to protest to air their grievances, said Thakur.
