By IANS
Shimla : The election campaign has hit a frosty note in Himachal Pradesh as wet weather along with icy winds continued to frustrate political parties for the third consecutive day.
None of the national leaders came for campaigning in the state Wednesday, a day after Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh were unable to address election rallies as their helicopters could not land.
The last two days have seen moderate to heavy snowfall in the middle and higher reaches of the state, while the lower hills have been lashed by rain.
The state capital Shimla has recorded over 15 cm of snowfall, the highest in a decade for the first week of December.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the BJP’s projected chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal held poorly attended rallies. Both the leaders were forced to cancel most of their public meetings due to bad weather for the past three days.
The Congress party announced its election manifesto in Dharamsala in Kangra district, around 280 km from here. The manifesto promises to raise the retirement age – from 58 to 60 years – of nearly 300,000 state government employees.
The government employees form a major chunk of the voters in the state and their support is considered crucial for the victory.
Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswamy is visiting the state Thursday to review the polls arrangements.
The second and final phase of polling for 65 assembly seats will take place Dec 19. In view of inclement weather the Election Commission has fixed Dec 22 as an additional date if the polling does not take place Dec 19. The counting of votes is scheduled for Dec 28.
The first phase of polling took place for the three seats of Bharmaur, Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur Nov 14 due to forecast of early snowfall.