Shimla, October 8
Striving to make a comeback in the hill state, the Congress has this time pushed in an army of young and energetic soldiers, led by an experienced General like Virbhadra Singh to take on the ruling BJP which has not introduced too many young faces.

Even as there are divergent views on the issue of having a retirement age in politics, the Congress has this time given preference to young leaders with almost a dozen new faces whose average age is about 35 years. Added to this is the fact that almost six of the sitting Congress legislators, including Neeraj Bharti (33), Subhash Manglet (39), Sudhir Sharma (39) Rajesh Dharmani (40) and Rakesh Kalia (44), who have been given the ticket once again, are less than 45 years of age.

Interestingly, the oldest candidate to be fielded by any party so far is also from the Congress. Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vidya Stokes is 84 and has been fielded from the Theog constituency. A close second to her is Virbhadra Singh who is 78 and will contest from Shimla (Rural).

In the BJP it is Education Minister ID Dhiman who so far is the oldest candidate at the age of 78.

The youngest candidate so far who has been fielded by the Congress is Yadvender Goma, son of former Congress leader Milkhi Ram Goma from Jaisinghpur (old name Rajgir) in Kangra district. Hailing from a political family, he is 27 and has done B Tech.

Similarly, another youngster who will make his electoral debut this time with the full backing of Rahul Gandhi is Vinod Sultanpuri from Kasauli Assembly segment in Solan district. He is 30 and a law graduate from Pune. He is currently general secretary in the Himchal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) and son of six-time Lok Sabha MP from Shimla parliamentary constituency.

Another young face introduced by the Congress is Anirudh Singh, Chairman, Shimla Zila Parsihad. He is 33 and has been fielded from the Kasumpti Assembly segment, one of the three constituencies, which are part of the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

Other relatively young faces include Satpal Raizada (38) from Una, Ram Kumar (43) from Doon and Sanjay Awashty (46) from Arki in Solan district Harish Janartha (47) from Shimla and Sunder Thakur (48) from Kullu.

As compared to the Congress, the ruling BJP, which is yet to finalise candidates for 12 of the 68 Assembly segments, has not fielded too many young leaders so far. Even though the party has some young sitting MLAs like Rajiv Saizal (41), state BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti (48), Virender Kanwar (48), Tejwant Negi (48) and Vipin Parmar (48), who have been given the ticket again, but very few new young faces have been introduced.

Shimla, October 8
The impact of delimitation instead of factional considerations has played a major role in the selection of candidates by the Congress high command, which released the list for all 68 seats today.

Barring a few surprises, the choice of candidates has been on expected lines. Aware of ground realities, the high command has tried to field the best possible candidates, irrespective of group loyalties.

More importantly, Central leaders have not imposed any candidate, as evident from the fact that those who enjoy the backing of Rahul Gandhi, like Manoj Pathania from Nurpur, have been denied the ticket. Significantly, none of the candidates backed by Union minister Anand Sharma has found favour with the high command.

Most established leaders figure in the list and only two sitting legislators, Sohan Lal and Yog Raj, whose constituencies have been de-reserved, have been denied the ticket. Two other sitting legislators, Sudhir Sharma and Rakesh Kalia, whose seats have been reserved, have been shifted.

Delimitation has forced the party to field new candidates from Rohru, Baijnath, Kasumpti, Kullu and Manali.

In its search for formidable candidates, the party has not hesitated in taking back rebel leader Vijay Singh Mankotia, who had caused much embarrassment to the party by releasing the controversial audio compact disc against Virbhadra Singh, and given him the ticket from Shahpur.

Similarly, the party decided to field former Member of Parliament Dhani Ram Shandil from the newly reserved Solan constituency. The party denied the ticket to three women leaders, who were potential winners, and ended up fielding only four women candidates.

Pratibha Singh (Kasumpti) and Viplove Thakur (Dehra) were denied the ticket as the party decided in principle not to nominate more than one member of a family. Jodhpur Member of Parliament Chandresh Kumari (Dharamsala) was also not given the ticket.

However, a new woman candidate, Tara Thakur, daughter of former legislator Moti Ram, was given the ticket from Seraj. The other three women in the fray are senior leaders Vidya Stokes, Asha Kumari and Anita Verma.

The party has taken extra care to strike a caste balance and fielded 13 Brahmin candidates. While 17 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and three for Scheduled Tribes, there are 28 candidates from the Rajput community, but only two from the Ghirth community.

There are 19 new faces and a number of second-generation leaders like Yadvinder Goma, Tara Thakur, Vinod Sultanpuri and Bhuvneshwar Gaur have being given the ticket. Some past rebels who have a base like Sanjay Rattan and Ravi Thakur have also got the nod.

Dharamsala, October 8
After Dehra, the Congress is facing dissidence in Jwalamukhi, where block Congress president Nardev Kanwar has threatened to resign along with his supporters in case the party does not reconsider the decision to allot the party ticket to Sanjay Rattan.

Talking to The Tribune, Kanwar vented his ire against state Congress president Virbhadra Singh. It seemed from the ticket allotment that ‘Virbhadra Singh Congress’ was existing in the state and not ‘Sonia Gandhi Congress’, he alleged.

Kanwar said he had been working for the party for over 25 years. “I started my career from the National Student Union of India and the Youth Congress. In the last five years, I toured the constituency on foot and propagated the programmes of the Congress,” he said.

“At the last moment, the party has decided to give the ticket to Rattan just because he is a Virbhadra Singh loyalist. Rattan had contested as an Independent against the official Congress candidate twice and lost. As per party criteria, he should have been denied the ticket. It seems that Virbhadra Singh’s will has prevailed over party criteria,” he added.

Asked if he would contest as an Independent, Kanwar said that he would take a decision in consultation with his supporters. “My supporters are egging me on to contest as an Independent and not to take the injustice meted out to me lying down,” he said.

A Youth Congress leader, Kanwar was promoted to block Congress president during Kaul Singh Thakur’s stint as state Congress president. A Kaul Singh confidant, he was hoping to get the ticket with his support. His chances received a jolt when Kaul Singh was removed as state party president.

Kanwar had also been claiming the ticket on the plea that with delimitation, the percentage of the Rajput vote bank in Jwalamukhi had increased considerably.

Jwalamukhi is considered the bastion of Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhawala, who was elected from here thrice consecutively. If Kanwar decides to contest as an Independent, the going is likely to get tough for the Congress.

Meanwhile, Yog Raj, Congress legislator from Pragpur, today held a meeting of his workers at the temple complex in Dehra and reiterated his resolve to contest as an Independent. He said he had not been approached by any senior leader of the party so far.

Dharamsala, October 8
Vijay Singh Mankotia, who recently rejoined the Congress, today arrived in Shahpur and started his campaign. He got a rousing welcome from his supporters. All Congress leaders from Shahpur except Kewal Singh Pathania, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) delegate from the area, were present to welcome him.

In an exclusive interview with The Tribune, Mankotia said he rejoined the party on the plea of the senior leadership. He said the Congress had realised that it was feeling a leadership vacuum in the lower areas of the state. He claimed that the party had lost almost 10 per cent of its vote bank in the lower areas after he left the party.

He further said many senior leaders, including former HPCC president Kaul Singh Thakur, had been trying to bring him back into the party. He claimed that senior leaders of the party, including Virbhadra Singh, called on him after elections were announced.

About the compact disc (CD) charges against Virbhadra Singh, Mankotia said, “Both of us have decided not to issue any statement regarding the CD case. The matter is in court and commenting on it will be contempt of court. We have decided to take a call on the issue after elections in consultation with legal experts.”

Asked if Virbhadra Singh had played a pivotal role in bringing him back into the Congress, Mankotia said Virbhadra Singh had invited him to New Delhi and offered to put the past on the backburner in the interests of the party. Besides him, many other leaders also played an important role in bringing him back, he said.

Now that he has rejoined the Congress under the leadership of Virbhadra Singh, it will be tough for Mankotia to change his stance against his former bête noirê.

His homecoming has made the contest tough for Social Security and Women Empowerment Minister Sarveen Chaudhary.

She also started her campaign from the area with the inauguration of an election office. She also organised a ‘dham’ (community kitchen) for her supporters.

In the last elections, Mankotia-backed Independent candidate Onkar Rana had secured about 16,000 votes and Congress candidate Pathania only about 8,000.

Hamirpur, October 8
Rajinder Rana, president of the Sarav Kalyankari Sabha, who is all set to contest as an Independent from the Sujanpur Assembly constituency got a warm reception on reaching here today.

People of the area received him at Chauki and a few other places on way to Sujanpur.

Rana also addressed a gathering at Sujanpur. He said: “The party ticket is decided by a few odd people, but MLA of this area will be elected by over 65,000 people and I will contest the election on people’s ticket and come out victorious.”

He said: “I have always remained with people of the area and will serve them with all devotion if given a chance to represent them.”

Bilaspur, October 8
Rakesh Chopra, a prominent BJP leader and vice-president of Ghumarwin Nagar Parishad, near here, has declared that he will file his papers as an Independent from the Ghumarwin seat.

This was the outcome of long deliberations in a largely attended conference of his supporters, which he had summoned at Ghumarwin yesterday, and which unanimously urged him to stand as an Independent and challenge the official BJP candidate and others.

Reports said the conference was also attended by some leaders of the BJP and all sections of the population, including ex-servicemen and retired officers and employees of stature. They were sore that Chopra’s claim was ignored.

They are said to have urged Rakesh that he should challenge this “partisan decision”, which ignores his claim for the BJP ticket from the Ghumarwin seat.

The BJP high command decided to allot the ticket to an RSS activist, Rajender Garga, after considering and weighing all aspects of several other ticket seekers.

Mandi, October 8
Fissures have appeared in the Himachal Lokhit Morcha (HLM) ahead of poll as its constituents the CPI and the CPM today took out a procession in support of CPI candidate from Mandi Sadar Des Raj and CPM candidate from Balh Paras Ram.

On the other hand, Maheshwar Singh-led Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) has declared Harish Chander as its candidate from Mandi Sadar and Natra Singh from Balh, triggering fissures within the HLM in the district.

The rally was led by Des Raj, who is also a member of the HLM core committee, and CPM district president Bhupender Singh under the banner of the Left parties.

Des Raj said the HLP declared its candidates without seeking their view.

“The CPI and the CPM have decided to field candidates from Mandi Sadar and Balh and there is no question of looking back,” he added.

Bhupender said they were trying to sort out the issue with the HLP, but chance seems to dim as the CPI and the CPM have fielded Des Raj from Mandi Sadar, Paras Ram from Balh, Kushal Bhardwaj from Jogindernagar and Jagdish Thakur from Seraj.

Solan, October 8
With Sheila Kumari bagging the BJP ticket for the Solan constituency, the total number of women candidates contesting in the district has reached two.

Vinod Chandel, who is the sitting MLA from Doon, is the other woman candidate in the fray while no woman has been fielded by the Congress.

The allotment of the party ticket to Sheila, who is the zila parishad chairperson, assumes importance as the constituency has been reserved for the first time following delimitation. BJP general secretary and three-time MLA Rajeev Bindal has shifted to Nahan following the delimitation.

Sheila, who has risen from the grass-roots level, has been active in politics since 1990 and remained panchayat pradhan, vice-president of panchayat samiti and member of zila parishad before being elected as the chairperson of the zila parishad in 2010.

Optimistic of winning this seat, Sheila said her experience of serving the panchayat-level institutions had given her a fair understanding of issues affecting villages as well as Solan town. Being in the public domain for the past several years had helped her establish a foothold in the area.

Hailing from Shilli village, she is a graduate and has gradually made her way to the zila parishad by hard work and simplicity.

Doon MLA Vinod Chandel, who is seeking re-election from the Doon constituency, is a matriculate and was elected in 2007 for the first time on a BJP ticket. Her victory had, for the first time, helped the BJP open its account in this constituency.

She had earlier too contested unsuccessfully in 2003 when she had remained at number two with the BJP candidate having emerged third.

Earlier, the BJP had been losing its security deposit and Chandel’s entry in the BJP has helped the party romp home this seat.

She believes various development works carried out in the past five years will help her win the seat again.

Sundernagar, October 8
The Communist Party of India (CPI) has said it will go to people of Himachal Pradesh and urge them to defeat both the BJP and the Congress in the forthcoming Assembly elections and give support to the Third Front.

Addressing a press conference, Desh Raj Sharma, CPI candidate from Mandi Assembly segment and member of the national executive of the CPI, said the public was annoyed with the governance of the BJP and the Congress.

Bhupinder Singh, general secretary, CPM, Lalit Singh, district secretary, CPI, Sameer Kashyap, secretary, Mandi town, Mani Ram, CPI, and Prashant Mohan, president, State Youth Federation, HP, were also present.

Shimla, October 8
Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy has underlined the need to develop hydropower resources in harmony with the environment to ensure their long term sustainability.

Presiding over the 4th HPPCL Power Development Lecture-cum-Workshop here today, he said the government was trying to maintain a balance between the developmental and conservation needs.

Local residents were supportive of hydropower development but they were often misled by outsiders due to vested interest or lack of knowledge and awareness.

He exhorted power developers to bridge this knowledge gap so that they were made aware of the factual position.

Himachal would not give up its right to development or sacrifice its environment and social assets. He enumerated the initiatives taken by the state to ensure environment and social sustainability of hydropower projects.

He said there was a hope from Cumulative Environment Impact Assessment (CEIA) studies, which it had commissioned in the right earnestness.

In his keynote address, Vice-Chairman, Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley Projects, Dr BP Das, made a case for serious thinking on the CEIA studies and downstream releases to sustain the life of river and living of dependent population not only of humans but also the flora and fauna.

The two-day long lecture-cum-workshop on ‘Cascade Hydro Power Development in a River Basin-CEIA Studies for Optimization’ is being organised by the HPPCL in collaboration with the Forum of the Hydropower Producers in Sutlej, Beas, Chenab, Ravi and Yamuna basins. Around 150 delegates from HPSEBL, SJVNL, different IPPs working in hydro sector, Forest Department CWC,HPPTCL and other organisations are participating in it.