Electioneering reaches feverish pitch in Himachal

The campaign has peaked with central leaders of BJP and Congress descending on the state to muster support.

With just a few days left for polling to four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh, the campaign has reached a feverish pitch with central leaders of BJP and Congress descending on the state to muster support for their candidates.

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Although the BJP, Congress and the BSP are contesting all the Lok Sabha seats but the main contest is between the BJP and Congress.

Due to early declaration of the elections the campaigning started almost two months in advance, even before the candidates were declared by the major parties.

Chief Minister V B Singh had started addressing meetings across the state from January while the formal party campaign was launched in March.

The BJP leaders Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal had also launched the campaign in March and both the parties have adopted a similar strategy.

While the Congress launched the campaign with roadshow of party president Sonia Pandhi, the BJP organised parliamentary constituency level conferences on all four seats.

The party flags and posters started appearing only during past one week after filing of nominations but the usual din of election was missing.

The harvesting season had kept the people away from campaign in the beginning and now the hostile weather with rains and snow hampering the electioneering.

Stormy conditions prevailed in the state during past one week and tribal Lahaul valley and Dodra-Kwar areas remained cut off from the rest of the state for four days.

But the campaign picked up after the weather cleared.

The electorate, who had witnessed hectic campaigning during the assembly polls in February 2003, are not very enthusiastic and the polling is likely to be low as compared to assembly polls.

Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and Congress President Sonia Gandhi have already campaigned in the state and Prime Minister A B Vajpayee was scheduled to address an election rally at Kullu on May 8.

Both the congress and the BJP are promising corruption free and responsive government and accusing each other for not solving the problems of the people during their rule.

While Congress candidates were in advantageous position because of their government in the state, the BJP leaders were trying to convince the people as the NDA government is likely to come back to power their interests were safe only in the hands of the party.

The BJP's main plank is "tested and tried" leadership of Vajpayee and overall development of the country during the NDA rule but it was working overtime to convince the electorate that the Congress has badly let down the country during its 45 year rule.

Congress also highlighting the developmental works undertaken by its successive government and has not allowed its plank of crusade against corruption to be diluted.

Congress was raking up the issues of corruption and nepotism during the BJP regime which clicked with the electorate and helped the party regain power in the state.