BSP to tilt balance of power
Kulwinder Sandhu

Kangra, the biggest district in the hill state with 16 assembly segments, is politically significant for all political parties.

Recently, Major Vijay Singh Mankotia, state convener and projected chief ministerial candidate of the BSP raked up the issue of regional discrimination.

He announced his poll promises of making Dharamsala the winter capital of the state, setting up permanent division benches of the High Court and the state administrative tribunal. This forced the policy makers of the BJP and the Congress to rethink their poll strategy. The BJP is divided into two main factions—one led by Shanta Kumar the son of the soil with a stronghold in the district and the other led by Prem Kumar Dhumal belonging to Hamirpur with a strong hold in Hamirpur, Mandi, Bilaspur and Una districts.

During his last two tenures as chief minister, Virbhadra Singh has regularly been following the practice of an annual winter sojourn at Dharamsala in a bid to bring the government/ administration closer to the local people. Last year, Virbhadra Singh got constructed a new building of the Vidhan Sabha at Dharamsala and held the winter session in the new building. He also announced setting up of a permanent bench of the state administrative tribunal here, besides, a central university for the area.

The BSP’s announcement of full-fledged winter capital has put both the BJP and the Congress in a ticklish situation. For BJP, the situation seems to be more delicate because for it the road leading to Shimla goes via Kangra district. If they fail to get at least 10 out of the 16 assembly seats from this politically sensitive district, their chances of forming the government will be bleak. And, getting 10 or more seats for the BJP is not an easy task as the presence of the BSP and the growing factionalism within the BJP in the district can disturb its calculations.

For the Congress, it will be a tough balancing act to justify the measures adopted for the region and suppress the voice of Mankotia who has been talking of regional disparity. The BSP’s presence in the elections has definitely made the electoral battle colourful in the district and it has emerged as a big pressure group which can tilt the balance of power.

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