Shimla: Himachal Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 74.5 percent –almost what 2017 elections registered to mark the return of the BJP to power winning 44 seats against 21 of the Congress—then a ruling party.
There is a silver lining for the BJP in the voters’ turn-out and vital statistics pertaining to the previous elections or voters’ behaviour in Himachal Pradesh whenever the elections were fought on faces, irrespective of the parties—BJP or Congress.
One of the striking features is notable in Seraj—the assembly constituency of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. Despite the Congress banking largely on the government employees, promising them Old Pension Scheme (OPS), the constituency has recorded 82.22 percent polling, highest in Mandi district.
“The OPS is a factor but employees also know only the BJP can find a solution, not Congress” Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said exuding confidence that the ruling party would retain power.
Having won five elections in a row, Thakur is ready to make it his six term, which none of his BJP predecessors could get despite some of them being stalwarts in their times . He is comfortably places in his constituency owing to his rise to the Chief Ministerial post and development that his area has seen during past five years.
His Congress rival Chet Ram had polled 24.265 votes in 2017 against 35,519 by Jai Ram Thakur. This time around, there is no big challenge to Thakur to win the seat.
In 2017, the BJP had won 9 out of 10 seats in Mandi district as Jai Ram Thakur was seen as one of the Chief Ministerial post aspirants. Retaining all nine seats, and one Independent now in the BJP, is a challenge for the party.
The big factor that the BJP sees in its favour is the Prime Minister himself spearheading the poll campaign in the hill state. He held a series of rallies in the state which had a strong impact on the minds of voters.
His appeal “ Every vote you cast for Lotus will strengthen him and will come to my credit”. Secondly he said “ Mera ek Kaam karoge , Karoge Na ? Ghar ja kar bolna Modi ji aaye the, aapko Pranam Bheja hai.”
The day Modi started his campaign in Himachal Pradesh he also went to Radha Swami Satsang, Beas and spent his time with Dera chief Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon. This sent a strong message to the devotees in Himachal Pradesh, who are linked to the Dera.
There are at least seven districts viz Solan, Mandi, Shimla, Hamirpur,Una, Chamba and Kangra which have a huge presence of devotees of Radha Soami Satsang Beas.
The BJP is confident that the custom of alternating power between the Congress and BJP will change because Modi is known for making impossible things possible.
The BJP insiders claim that nobody could imagine the amount of work which the organisation has done to mobilise the cadres to go to the polling booths on the voting day.
“We had mapped every single voter as well as their families. We ensured that not a single vote is left uncast. This was aimed to counter the Congress influenced government employees campaigning on OPS issue” said a senior BJP office-bearer.
There were also some sidelights of the polling in Himachal Pradesh. The chilly weather did not dampen the voters’ enthusiasm in Trashigang, known as the world’s highest polling station, as the village recorded a 100 per cent polling on Saturday.
The world’s highest polling station in Himachal Pradesh’s Tashigang village, located at a height of 15,256 feet above sea level, recorded a full voter turnout for the assembly election. The booth saw all 52 registered voters of the village exercise their franchise.
The BJP has also won 11 seats in the state’s biggest district–Kangra in 2017. It’s said the political route to Shimla passes through Kangra. The party saw some rift in the district but is expected to do well because of the Modi factor.
This is one of the districts where BJP veterans like Shanta Kumar had their biggest political capital and the BJP rose from Kangra to rise to the power in 1977 and 1990 under Shanta Kumar and also 1998 when Prem Kumar Dhumal formed the government.
In Sirmaur, the BJP government’s decision to grant tribal status to Hatti Community, a population of three lakhs living in Trans-giri area bordering Uttarakhand has had a huge impact. Shailai being a hot spot of Hatti could be a constituency to watch for its poll outcome as it has polled the highest number of 84.10 percent votes.
In all there are five assembly constituencies in Sirmaur.
“ We are going to have a really powerful endorsement of the Hattis ,who had struggled for decades to get tribal status made possible by home minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi” says BJP state President Suresh Kashyap.
