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Election heat grips HP
While Congress kicked off its campaign with Sonia Gandhi's roadshow, BJP started off with a workers' meeting to galvanise them for the polls.
The campaign for elections to four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh has started picking up with the major rivals Congress and BJP sweating it out in the spring-swept hills and valleys of the tiny state.
The campaign had started from the first week of March although the filing of nomination papers starts on April 16 and senior leaders of the parties were extensively touring the state.
The candidates were also declared by both the parties much in advance and the merger of Himachal Vikas Congress former union communication minister Sukhram has set the stage for a direct contest between BJP and Congress in all four seats.
The budget session of the state assembly was deferred and a four-day session was convened in the last week of February to pass the vote-on-account in view of the Lok Sabha polls.
While Congress kicked off the campaign with roadshow by party chief Sonia Gandhi, BJP started with a workers' meeting to galvanise them for the polls.
Chief Minister VB Singh, former Union minister Shanta Kumar, former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and other senior leaders are intensively touring the state for past one month.
Central BJP leaders Sushama Swaraj, Rajnath Singh and B C Khanduri have already launched the poll campaign and a host of central leaders of both the parties including Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi are likely to descend on Himachal Pradesh in May during the last phase of electioneering.
While the political parties are enthusiastic about the campaign, the farmers are busy wheat harvesting. The scorching sun and soaring mercury are causing concern to the political parties and holding meetings during the day time is becoming increasingly difficult with each passing day.
The campaign is so far confined to public meetings and workers meetings and the poster and advertisement war is yet to start.
Both BJP and Congress are working overtime to win over the rebels and leaders of other parties and except for BSP and Janata Dal (S), all other parties are supporting either BJP or Congress candidates.
