Nagrota Bagwan: This constituency has been the bastion of senior Congress leader GS Bali since 1998. He won thrice consecutively. This time, he is seeking to save his bastion from aide-turned-opponent Arun Mehra, popularly known as Kuka in Nagrota Bagwan, and BJP candidate Mangal Chaudhary.

Mehra is contesting as an Independent and has the support of political opponents of GS Bali. Chaudhary is contesting as the as BJP candidate for the second time. In 2007, Bali defeated him by over 6,000 votes. Bali has maintained his dominance in the area, where a majority of voters belong to the OBC category. He has been defeating OBC candidates, dispelling the notion of vote bank politics on the basis of caste.

Bali’s strength in the constituency is the social work he carries out in the area. He is running a free ambulance service in the area and also doles out pension from his pocket to a sizeable number of voters of the area, who have become directly and indirectly associated with him.

Being one of the richest politicians in the state, many people of Nagrota Bagwan are drawing direct or indirect benefit from him. These voters are his vote bank. Bali’s biggest achievement is the sanction of Rs 125 crore for a multi-speciality hospital at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College in Tanda.

The other two candidates, Chaudhary and Mehra, are relying heavily on the caste factor. Both candidates are from the OBC category and hope that the caste factor will take them home. Many political opponents are hoping that Mehra, Bali’s former aide, cuts into his OBC vote bank. Mehra may damage both the BJP and the Congress.

People in the constituency are also talking of an ‘ill omen’ associated with the constituency. No candidate has won from the constituency more than thrice consecutively. In the 1980s, Congress candidate Chaudhary Hardial won thrice consecutively. He was unseated by Ram Chand Bhatia of the BJP. He won thrice consecutively as well. Bali can rewrite electoral history of the constituency if he wins for the fourth consecutive time.

Sulah: Being a constituency of unpredictable electorate who even defeated Shanta Kumar after having remained the Chief Minister in the 1993 poll, the people of Sulah will once again have to choose between the traditional rivals, Jagjivan Pal of the Congress and Vipin Parmar of the BJP.

The constituency has a track record of witnessing very keen contests, including a bypoll, with political giants like Kanwar Durga Chand and Shanta being MLAs from here. The Sulah constituency made headlines when Shanta after having remained the Chief Minister lost at the hands of Man Chand Rana in the 1993 poll held in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition.

This time the segment appears to be heading for a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP. Though there are a total of eight candidates but the main contest will be between the BJP and the Congress. The presence of a BJP rebel Deepak Nag in the fray could make marginal difference to the BJP.

Parmar made his electoral debut in the high-pitched 1993 poll when he lost to Kanwar Durga Chand of the Congress. Having won two elections in 1998 and 2007, he is hoping to trounce Pal for the third time. Parmar has been instrumental in getting a lot of development works done, especially, in terms of drinking water and irrigation schemes and strengthening of road network.

However, the sitting MLA faces a formidable challenge from Pal, who lost the last Assembly elections with a slender margin of 999 votes. The Congress nominee is popular due to his down-to-earth approach. He enjoys the full backing of Virbhadra Singh.

Parmar, who managed to get a lot of development works done with the blessings of the Chief Minister, is basically a Shanta loyalist. With the former Chief Minister’s own native place, Garh Jamulla, being a part of Sulah, his complete backing and support will certainly strengthen Parmar’s position.

With delimitation, the inclusion of 22 polling booths with about 12,000 voters, dominated by the OBC community that has come into Sulah from Palampur could strengthen the case of Pal, who is himself from the community. At the same time 12 polling booths from Thural with about 8,000 electorate that now forms a part of Sulah has a sizeable Rajput population. These Rajput dominated areas can favour Parmar. 

Solan: A tough contest appears to be on the cards in Solan constituency, which has been reserved after delimitation, forcing the BJP and the Congress to field new candidates. While the BJP has fielded zila parishad chairperson Sheila Kumari, the Congress has chosen Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Dhani Ram Shandil, who had contested the 2009 parliamentary elections unsuccessfully from Shimla.

The presence of HN Kashyap, BJP rebel, and Himachal Lokhit Party nominee OP Kant has made the contest interesting as they can cause some damage to the BJP. Kashyap had unsuccessfully contested the 2004 parliamentary elections and was a BJP ticket contender this time.

The Solan seat was won by BJP’s Rajiv Bindal in 2000 in a by-election. He went on to win two consecutive elections in 2003 and 2007. The seat was won by Krishna Mohini of the Congress in 1993 and MN Sofat of the BJP in 1990.

Sheila Kumari is banking on development works executed by the BJP government and says the laying of link roads, expansion of ‘sabzi mandis’ and improvement in healthcare facilities to the rural youth will help her win. Having risen from the grassroots, she has the advantage of being familiar with voters both in rural and urban areas.

The Congress has failed to nurture any leader from this constituency after it was reserved. Shandil faces a tough task in reaching out to voters due to his absence from the constituency after his defeat in 2009. He had won from Shimla in the parliamentary elections in 1999 on the Himachal Vikas Congress ticket and in 2004 as the Congress candidate.

Shandil says he toured all panchayats while he was MP and was well-versed with the problems of the area. He says setting up collection centres for procuring the agrarian produce and opening vocational training institutes will be his priority. Hailing from Bashil village in Kandaghat, Shandil rejects the ‘outsider’ tag attached to him and says he has not lost touch with voters. Rakesh Kumar of the BSP and Prem Singh of the Himachal Swabhiman Party are also in the fray.

Shimla, October 22
Having adopted the tactical approach of “appease all”, the BJP, in its election manifesto released here today, promised to provide free induction plates to every household to reduce dependence on LPG, enhancement of daily wages from Rs 150 to Rs 250, hike in social security pension from Rs 450 to Rs 650 and jobs for 10 lakh unemployed.

The manifesto, which was released jointly by Chief Minister PK Dhumal, Shanta Kumar, Satpal Satti, Kalraj Mishra and JP Nadda, has something to offer to practically every section of society with focus on youth, farmers and employees. “To provide some relief to people from the unprecedented hike in prices of LPG cylinder, if voted to power, we will provide one induction plate to every household as HP has cheap and regular power supply,” he announced. There are about 14 lakh household in the state.

The other popular poll promises rolled out today include employment for the 10 lakh jobless youth, continuation of subsidised ration scheme, policy for regularisation of qualified PTA and para teachers and provision of free medicines for all in government hospitals to all.

“We will provide for the promotion of college lecturers to the professor level, set up separate law and Sanskrit universities and ensure quality education in all educational institutions,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the thrust would be on skill development and job-oriented courses with plans for the expansion of the existing scheme of providing free laptops to meritorious students of class XII. He added that the budget for sports would be doubled.

Efforts have been made to further consolidate its vote bank among the pensioners who will get to undertake a free pilgrimage once in five years and the enhancement of pension by 5 per cent for pensioners at 60 years, 10 per cent at 75, 20 per cent at 80 and 200 per cent those who live upto 100 years. The BJP manifesto promises to enhance wages of Home Guards from Rs 225 to Rs 350.

The BJP has promised to strengthen road network and add 500 new buses to the existing fleet. He said small traders with turnover up to Rs 10 lakh would be exempted from VAT.

He said refrigerated vans would be provided for marketing fruits and vegetables and other agro-products, one Community Bhawan would constructed in each Assembly constituency every year, CFL bulb scheme would be continued and more services would included in the ambit of the Public Services Guarantee Act. 

HIGHLIGHTS

* Induction plate to every household
* 500 new buses
* Job creation for 10 lakh jobless
* Free medicines to all in government hospitals
* Policy to regularise services of PTA and para teachers
* Enhancement of social security pension and pension to retired employees
* Soft loans for students and farmers
* Free pilgrimage for pensioners once in five years
* Insurance cover for lawyers, truck and taxi drivers
* Enhancement of daily wages
* Law and Sanskrit universities

Shimla, October 22
National BJP vice-president Shanta Kumar today said the party rebels who refused to retire from the contest would be expelled from the party not just for six years, but forever.

Shanta said he, along with other senior leaders, had repeatedly urged the rebels to withdraw from the contest. “It pains me immensely to see leaders who have had the opportunity to remain MLA for six terms, turn against the party on the denial of ticket,” he remarked.

The BJP has prepared a list of about 15 rebels who are giving a tough time to the party nominees in various parts of the state. However, the problem is maximum in the two biggest districts of Kangra and Mandi. “I urge all BJP workers to teach such ungrateful leaders who have turned against the party a lesson by ensuring that their security is forfeited,” he said. He added that there were many contenders for the party ticket but once it was allotted, all party men must work jointly to ensure party’s victory.

He admitted that prior to ticket allotment both he and Dhumal could have had a difference of opinion in fielding candidates, but now every candidate was BJP candidate for whom he would campaign. He lamented that everyone had become so ambitious that on the denial of ticket they forgot about loyalty towards the party.

Shanta said the BJP was all set to make a comeback. “It is not a question of making tall promises to woo voters but to talk of one’s performance in the past five years,” he remarked.

Bilaspur, October 22
A toll-free telephone No. 1800-180-8021 has been set up in the 24-hour control room under the “General Assistant” to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) here for giving or asking any election-related information or complaint in the town from across the district.

This was stated by District Returning Officer (DRO)-cum-DC Ritesh Chauhan while talking to mediapersons here on Friday. He said the control room would also entertain all complaints regarding election expenditure of candidates and violations of the model code of conduct.

He said there were 2,71,103 electors and 4,342 service electors who were entitled to cast vote in the Assembly elections in all the segments of the district. He said 1,636 officers and employees were being trained for conducting election procedures in a fair manner.

The DRO said the Election Commission had appointed Ravinder K Kaushik as the central observer in the district. He could be contacted on phone Nos. 01978-221265 and 86270-56945 and at the Dholera PWD rest house, room No.10, between 10am to 6pm daily for any complaint.

The commission had appointed Rajiv Aggrawal as the election observer for keeping watch on expenditures of all candidates and parties, who could be contacted on phone Nos. 01978-221254 and 86270-55707 and at the Dholera PWD rest house, room No. 4 between 10am and 6pm.

He said there were four separate assistant election expenditure observers - Satyavan Bhankhad (Jhandutta-mobile No. 94180-02028), RC Kadam (Ghumarwin-98162-44514), Prem Singh Sharma (Bilaspur Sadar-98051-04304) and Randev Sharma (Naina Devi-98050-04335).

The DRO said till now 17 cases of violations of the model code of conduct had been received from the district.

He said this time any elector who did not find any candidate worth his vote could come to polling booth and ask for Form No. 49-O and leave it there after filling it and without casting the vote. He added that the EC would provide voter slips with serial No. and photo to every elector before the polling date.

Kullu, October 22
The divine political tremor has upped the political heat in the “valley of gods”, which is gearing up for the week-long international Kullu Dasehra festival at the historic Dhalpur Maidan here from October 24.

With electioneering in full swing in villages across the state, the shadow of Kullu Dasehra looms large on the Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) as the present scion of the erstwhile kingdom of Kullu state Maheshwar Singh will be confined to his makeshift camp at the Dhalpur Maidan from October 24 to 30, till the festival is over.

Maheshwar is the chief representative of the Lord Raghunath, the presiding deity of this international festival, and no ceremony can take place without him.

He said Dasehra was a people’s festival and he would perform his traditional duty as he and his ancestors had been doing in the past.

But the real test for Maheshwar is not only to ensure peaceful exit of Dasehra, but also to face the belligerent group of Kardars of devis and devtas, who have floated the Kullu Devsanskriti Trust.

This group is led in proxy by Maheshwar’s political rival and BJP leader Khimi Ram, a sitting Banjar MLA. Khimi faces Maheshwar’s brother Karan Singh, a Congress candidate from Banjar this time, though the HLP has also put a candidate in the fray.

Maheshwar is out to cash in on the sway he holds in the devta politics of Kullu-Mandi district for his survival in the power game on the HLP platform. As many as 400 devis and devtas or their representatives zero in here for Dasehra and it is a time when people are talking nothing but politics here, says a cultural pandit of the valley.

Maheshwar has formed the HLP with a heavy heart after he severed every ties with the BJP. Chief Minister PK Dhumal preferred Khimi Ram and pushed Maheshwar out, who at one time had emerged as the key BJP leader from Mandi and Kullu, challenging Dhumal’s power in the party.

Though Dhumal enjoyed support of Narender Modi, the then BJP in charge of Himachal, Maheshwar could not take his dream further in the BJP.

Maheshwar, two-time Mandi MP, had once vanguished Congress’ Kaul Singh and Pratibha Singh, wife of Virbhadra Singh, and has been fighting hard since 2007 when Dhumal came to power.

A large group of Kardars, who support Maheshwar, maintain that the Dhumal-Khimi tie up has interfered in the Dev Sanskriti by floating a trust.

Deputy Commissioner and president, Kullu Dasehra Committee, Dr Amandeep Garg said they had invited 270 devtas. Governor Urmila Singh would inaugurate the fair on October 24 and Chief Secretary S Roy would be the chief guest for the closing ceremony.

Bilaspur, October 22
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has said the Congress manifesto was just a copy of the BJP manifesto of the earlier Assembly elections, which had already been implemented by the BJP government in toto. It proves that the Congress has lost its grip over developments, which have happened here during the past five years, apart from it having not a single leader with vision, imagination and practical sense of knowing the present problems of the state.

Dhumal was addressing BJP rallies at Dadhole in the Ghumarwin constituency in favour of party candidate Rajender Garga and at Barthin in Jhandutta in favour of its candidate Rikhi Ram Kaundal yesterday in the district.

He charged Virbhadra Singh for hurling charges against others only because he himself had been involved in a large number of corruption scandals.

He took Anand Sharma to task for announcing that the Congress would introduce the FDI in the state, without considering serious consequences it would entail by making lakhs of shopkeepers, small traders and people at present employed in trade, business and allied activities. “But why should such cushion politicians ever bother for difficulties of masses of the state?” he asked.

Dhumal said, “Jan seva is the only motto of the BJP and it is committed to speedy development and progress of the state.”

Baijnath, October 22
Pal Mar, a Norway flier, was killed when he lost control on his glider and it fell into a 1,000-ft-deep gorge near Bara Bhangal on Friday. He had come to Billing to participate in the International Para-gliding competition to be held on October 25.

Official sources said here today that his body, along with his glider, was spotted from a height of 14,000 ft by fellow paraglider AD Call, who informed the control room at Bir.

Pal Mar had been missing for the past two days. On Friday morning he flew from Billing on free flying and soon he lost contact with the control room. Last evening, another flier, who was flying in the Dhauladhar hills, spotted his body trapped in a gorge along with his glider near Bara Bhangal bordering Chamba district.

Since Pal Mar had a heavy insurance cover, a private insurance company pressed a helicopter into service to trace his body. After six hours, a helicopter crew was able to extract the body and brought it to Baijnath for postmortem. After postmortem it was flown to New Delhi to be handed over to officials of the Norway Embassy. His family has already been informed about his death.

A Tribune team today visited Billing and the landing site at Bir and found that only one ambulance was at the spot.

Dharamsala, October 22
The district police has confiscated Rs 10 lakh from a Delhi-based businessman Prem Sukh Jakhar on the Kangra-Nagrota Bagwan road today.

Kangra SP Diljeet Singh Thakur said the accused was carrying the cash in his vehicle. He belonged to Deola Khurd village in Delhi. The accused told policemen at the naka that he was carrying the cash for a land deal. However, he could not satisfactorily explain the source of money. The Income Tax authorities have been informed and the amount has been deposited in the state treasury, he said.

Kangra DC KR Bharti said till date flying squads and the police had confiscated Rs 23.5 lakh in the district. As per the guidelines of the Election Commission nobody could carry more than Rs 2.5 lakh cash during the elections.

Chamba, October 22
To ensure greater participation of people in the electoral process of the Assembly elections, the Zila Saaksharta Samitti (ZSS) has kicked off a voter literacy and awareness drive under the aegis of the National Literacy Mission this week.

The objective of the drive is to ensure 100 per cent polling on November 4.

ZSS district project coordinator Suman Kumar Minhas said the campaign had been started consequent upon the directions of the Election Commission of India and the National Literacy Mission. The voter literacy and awareness campaign is an official drive, which would continue till November 4.

As many as 566 pareraks and 8,000 voluntary teachers had been deployed to disseminate the information about the election process through video CDs, posters and other material, said Minhas.

Minhas said the electoral literacy camps, awareness rallies etc were being organised to educate the voters about ensuring signatures of neo-literates during casting of vote and discouraging ‘angootha’ custom.

The voters were being motivated to go through the manifestoes of different political parties and candidates and choose the right person while casting vote.

He said an expert publicity troop under the guidance of Dr OP Bhureta of the state resource centre Shimla had also arrived at Chamba to spearhead the campaign..