By Baldev S. Chauhan, IANS
Shimla : Political parties in Himachal Pradesh, particularly the ruling Congress, have been taken by surprise over the announcement of assembly elections — over three months before they were due.
With the poll code coming into effect from Wednesday, the announcement has put paid to the ruling party’s hopes of announcing sops to woo voters.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is currently away on a weeklong visit to the United States, meeting World Bank officials, captains of Indian industry and Non Resident Indians (NRIs) in the hope of getting aid and investment for the state.
According to Congress sources, the party had lined up a package of sops including highlighting deals struck in the US to garner support for the forthcoming polls, thinking that the elections would take place on schedule in late February.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was scheduled to visit the hill state late this month and was expected to make liberal aid announcements to the debt-ridden state.
But now with the model code of conduct in place, all hopes of announcing sops have been dashed.
The chief minister returns to Shimla Oct 15.
As for the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it still remains faction-ridden.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), having made its entry in a significant way in the state barely a few months ago, has yet to consolidate its position if it is to make a dent in the votes of the main parties – the Congress and the BJP.
Nevertheless, all the parties are putting up a brave front by saying they are ready for the election.
“We will contest the assembly election on the issue of development work carried out by the Congress during the time it has been in power,” said Viplove Thakur, state Congress party chief.
Taken unawares by the poll announcement, Jai Ram Thakur, BJP state unit president, said: “We will meet the party high command and make public our strategy for the elections in the next couple of days.”
The Election Commission announced late Wednesday poll dates in two phases for the state. Polls in the three tribal assembly seats of Kinnaur, Bharmaur and Lahaul and Spiti, which have early snowfall, will be held Nov 14 while for the rest of the state (65 seats), the date is Dec 19. The results will be declared Dec 28.