Shimla, May 3
Often referred to as “money order economies” owing to a sizeable population of serving and retired soldiers hailing from Kangra, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts, political parties are out to woo this section which can be a major deciding factor in the upcoming poll.

It is a different matter that none of the political parties, including the Congress and the BJP, chose to field a retired Army officer, despite some prominent ones being in the race. However, issues concerning serving and retired soldiers figured prominently in the speeches of star campaigners such as Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi during their election rallies in the state.

The Congress has tried to score with this section by accepting their long-pending demand of one rank, one pension, just shortly before the announcement of the General Election. "Despite Finance Minister Chidambram stating that it would be very difficult to fulfil the one-rank, one-pension, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi put their foot down that this had to be done at any cost," said Rahul Gandhi in his speech at Bilaspur.

Similarly, Modi too made reference to Capt Vikram Batra at Palampur by making reference to his war cry of "Yeh dil maange more". The BJP in Himachal too has been stating that it is Dhumal who first of all raised the issue of one-rank, one-pension scheme in Parliament and seeking setting up of the Himachal Regiment.

The Congress has had many high-ranking officers who chose to join politics after hanging their boots. Prominent among them is Major Gen Bikram Singh (retd), who defeated former Chief Minister PK Dhumal in the 1996 polls from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat. Major Vijai Singh Mankotia too joined the Congress and is a five-time legislator from Shahpur in Kangra.

Later, he became a minister in the Virbhadra regime. Col Dhani Ram Shandil, a retired Army officer, won the Lok Sabha poll on the Himachal Vikas Congress in 1999 and later, on the Congress ticket in 2004 poll.

The BJP too has had its share of retired Army officers contesting on its ticket. This includes Major DD Khanoria who won from the Kangra Lok Sabha in 1991. A highly decorated officer Brig Kushal Thakur from Mandi district too joined the BJP and was in the reckoning for being fielded from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also tried to invoke the sentiment of the soldiers by fielding Kamal Kanta Batra, mother of Kargil hero Capt Vikram Batra.

Though people are still divided over the trend of Army personnel joining politics, some feel that they can make a significant contribution by cleansing the corrupt political system.

However, the Ex-servicemen League and other bodies formed by retired soldiers too have remained divided along the political lines. "The Army personnel are not united when it comes to fighting for the cause of serving and retired soldiers," admits Sqn Ldr Brij Lal Dhiman, Air Force officer (retd) from Amned village in Hamirpur.

Manali, May 3
The Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul and Spiti district, was opened to vehicular traffic at about 5 am today.

The General Reserve Engineers Force (GREF) personnel had said the pass would be opened before the polling day (May 7) and have kept their word.

While lauding their efforts, BS Thakur, Deputy Commissioner, Lahaul and Spiti, said: “The GREF personnel worked day and night to open the pass. Five small vehicles reached Keylong, the headquarters of the Lahaul and Spiti district, passing through 20-ft snow today. A Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus is also on its way."

The HRTC bus left for Keylong from Manali in the morning and is likely to reach there by the evening.

Opening the Rohtang Pass was a challenge for the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the agency maintaining roads in the region, as a large number of voters from the district were waiting for the pass to open so that they could return to the district for polling.

The vehicular traffic to Lahaul and Spiti was stopped before snowfall. BRO Public Relations Officer Colonel Nayyar said: “Normally it takes two months for the GRFF personnel to open the pass, but they worked day and night and opened the pass in just one month.”

"They had to clear 147 glaciers, and at an avalanche point they had to pass through 80 to 120 ft snow. They worked as late as 2 am," he added. 

Palampur, May 3
Senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar, who is contesting the parliamentary elections from Kangra, today refuted allegations levelled against him by AAP candidate Dr Rajan Sushant pertaining to irregularities in the transfer of land to the Vivekananda Medical Research Trust (VMRT) headed by him.

Addressing mediapersons here, Shanta said whatever Sushant had stated before the media and the state Vigilance Bureau was baseless and far from truth.

He said the VMRT was not his personal property; it was a trust meant for public welfare. He had not drawn any financial benefits or favours from the trust. Rather he had made contributions to the trust in lakhs from his own pocket, he added.

His only aim was provide quality healthcare to people of lower hills through the trust, he said.

Shanta clarified that the trust was first constituted in 1991 in collaboration with the Apollo Group of Hospitals in which the state government was one of the trustees.

The Apollo Group left the trust after the BJP government in the state was dissolved following the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.

Thereafter, the trust was reconstituted in 1998 and the land and other assets were also taken over by the reconstituted trust and the aim and objects of the trust remained the same.

Shanta categorically stated that all legal formalities were completed, while reconstituting the trust, the state government remained one of the trustees and former officio Chief Minister was made the chief pattern of the trust as per the original deed of the trust.

He said his political life was an open chapter and till date no one could level any charge against him. He said he was deeply hurt by the outburst of Sushant who had remained his follower for a long period. He said he was ready to face any probe in this regard.

Shanta alleged that Sushant was playing was the "B" hand of Congress leaders, therefore, he was levelling baseless charges to gain political mileage.

Referring to the utilisation of the MPLAD fund, Shanta said he was the only MP in the state who had utilised his 100 per cent the MPLAD fund. He also released the details of amounts distributed by him.

Shanta said voters had already made up their mind to form a NDA government at the Centre headed by Narendra Modi, therefore, these cheap tactics would help neither the Congress nor AAP. 

Kangra, May 3
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, president, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, said there was no need to adopt the Gujarat model for the country as was being alleged by the BJP.

Sukhu was addressing mediapersons at the Electricity Rest House, Jwalamukhi, today.

He claimed that Himachal was more developed than Gujarat and ranked second in literacy after Kerala in the country, which meant that people of the state were far more educated and developed.

The Congress chief said state BJP leaders were unable to see that Himachal was a developed state and were bent upon adopting the Gujarat model.

He said the BJP was puzzled over the growing popularity of the Congress and could sense defeat of all four candidates in the Lok Sabha elections.

He said the politics of lies and vendetta as being done by the BJP was not going to last long. He said the history spoke that whenever the Congress came to power, it worked for the overall and equitable development of all areas. He said the BJP always played politics based on region and religion and divided people on communal lines. 

Shimla, May 3
The BJP has accused Una police of intimidating voters at the behest of Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and demanded that Haroli Assembly constituency represented by Agnihotri be declared hypersensitive.

In a complaint to the Election Commission, state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti alleged that people were scared as the police were not acting in a free and fair manner and following the diktats of the Industries Minister.

It would be in public interest that Central security forces were deployed in the constituency for peaceful polling, it was stated. Satti alleged that the Industries Minister was using money and muscle power and had allegedly invited anti-social elements from Punjab to create trouble during the polls.

He urged the commission to send special observers to Una district falling in the Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency and also demanded the transfer of Una SP Anupam Sharma within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, former BJP minister Ravinder Singh Ravi has accused Congress candidate from Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat Rajender Singh Rana of shifting loyalties and has accused him of being over-ambitious. “After the BJP's defeat, Rana started flirting with the Congress, which picked him for contesting against BJP candidate Anurag Thakur as no Congress leader was willing to contest against Thakur.

“Rana, who had left the BJP and contested elections from Sujanpur Assembly constituency as Independent has changed parties thrice in the past 16 months and the people are confused and are wondering from which party Rana would contest the elections after his defeat," he said.

Looks like Ravi conveniently glossed over the case of Narender Thakur who left the BJP in 2002, contested against former Chief Minister PK Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur and is now back in the BJP fold. He has been given the BJP ticket from Sujanpur Assembly seat against Anita Rana, wife of Rajender Singh Rana.

Shimla, May 3
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kamal Kanta Batra, mother of the 1999 Kargil war hero Capt Vikram Batra, today declared her nine-point vision document for the Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency, making a last-ditch bid to woo servicemen, ex-servicemen, farmers, poor and unemployed youth.

AAP is eyeing a major kill in Hamirpur and has pressed its volunteers into intense campaigning. AAP considers the humble mother of Kargil war hero of "Yeh dil maange more" fame as one of the strongest candidates in the state.

Kamal Kanta, in fact, is the first candidate in the state who has spelt the individual vision document for Hamirpur. The CPM has declared the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha poll, but not the Congress and the BJP.

All eyes are on Hamirpur as it has emerged as a volatile battle ground between Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Leader of Opposition PK Dhumal as Dhumal's son, Anurag Thakur, BJP's sitting MP is feeling the heat from Congress first-timer Rajinder Rana, who enjoys an unstinted and intensive campaign support of Virbhadra Singh.

AAP volunteer Gaurav Tiwari claimed that Kamal Kanta toured all 17 constituencies in the Hamipur LS seat before she prepared her vision documents. She has proposed Rs 1 crore for soldiers who are killed and Rs 50 lakh for soldiers rendered handicapped as the honorarium.

She proposed to four lane national highways, cottage and small-scale units, parking lots for Una and Bilaspur and Hamirpur, women's cells to mitigate their complaints, public redressal centre, employment for local youth, audio-visual aids in government schools, travel and tourism opportunities in the area. She also proposed to find a lasting solution to the wildlife menace in the belt.

Kamal Kanta had taken Narendra Modi headon when Modi kicked up a row invoking Vikram Batra's Kargil war cry, "Yeh dil maange more" to woo state's serving and ex-servicemen and 56,000 service electors during the Palampur and Mandi election rallies he had addressed early this week.

AAP leader Shazia Ilmi has been campaigning in the Kangra constituency.

The AAP campaign in Shimla and Mandi has failed to cut much ice as the AAP candidates Subhash Chander (Shimla) and Jai Chand Thakur (Mandi) faced opposition from their local units.

Dehra (Dharamsala), May 3
Anurag Thakur, BJP candidate from the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency, held a roadshow at Dehra today, which was largely attended by area residents.

While addressing a public rally at Dehra, Anurag said the present Congress government had been unjust with Dehra. He said the previous BJP government had decided to bring the medical and engineering colleges of Central University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) to Dehra, as it was one of the most backward areas in Kangra district. But, the present Congress government shifted the majority of the campus to Dharamsala.

Anurag said if the NDA government was voted to power at the Centre, it would once again bring the university campus back to Dehra.

While talking to The Tribune, Anurag said he had raised several issues regarding the state in Parliament. He claimed that as an MP, he was named as the most efficient young MP in the country by various organisations.

About the allegations that he had not remained in contact with people in his constituency, Anurag said: “It is misinformation being spread by my rivals. I have distributed my entire MPLADS fund across the constituency. Could it have been possible had I not remained in touch with the people of the constituency?”

Former minister and MLA from Dehra Ravinder Ravi said the Congress government had not done anything in the area. “In fact, the entire Hamirpur parliamentary constituency has been discriminated against,” he said.

Anurag is relying heavily on the Dehra and Jaswan Pragpur Assembly constituencies in Kangra district in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In the last Assembly elections held in December 2012, Ravinder Ravi, BJP candidate from Dehra, won by a margin of about 15,000 votes. From Jaswan Pragpur also, Bikram Thakur of the BJP had won by nearly 7,000 votes.

Mandi, May 3
There is no fixed time to retire for the day for BJP candidate Ram Swaroop Sharma, but he gets up before 5 am and readies for the day's campaign.

Even during his busy schedule, he does not miss his yoga exercise for about 30 minutes to keep him fit for the hectic day ahead.

A devout Brahmin, Sharma then sits for his daily puja and does not forget to pay obeisance in a nearby temple and visit the Mahadev temple near Talyahad, where he was staying for the night at the house of a party worker.

His decade-long association with the RSS and a grassroot BJP worker has kept his eating habits simple, though he prefers having a glass of milk, which keeps him energetic the whole day.

During the breakfast, Sharma discusses the day's schedule and related issues with party workers of the area for an hour and sets of for the first election meeting at about 9.30 am at Kotli, where local villagers, including women, had gathered to hear him.

The main thrust of Sharma's speech is the attack on long reign of candidates from royal families in the Mandi parliamentary constituency.

While general issues such as price rise and corruption are touched upon by him, he highlights the inaccessibility of "Raja" (Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh) and "Rani" (sitting MP Pratibha Singh) and makes an appeal to end their rule and elect a grassroot party worker like him and promises to remain always accessible to people.

He also makes it a point to remind his lineage from a Brahmin family and asks voters in a constituency dominated by Rajput voters to give "dakshina" of votes to a Brahmin.

During his speeches, Sharma talks about development issues and basic amenities in the villages, for which he blames Congress leaders.

He is also promising to take up issues for the expansion of the railway line and setting up a rock salt processing unit at Gumma.

He is banking on the Modi wave and urges people to vote for him to make Narendra Modi the next Prime Minister of the country.

After holding four meetings, Sharma takes lunch comprising rice, dal and raita and vegetables at a workers' house at Kehanwal village. After the lunch, he addresses six meetings at Padhiun, Marathu and adjoining areas.

Back to his resting place at Mandi, Sharma attends small meeting arranged in wards of the town. His dinner is again at a party workers' house.

Sharma discusses plan for the next day before going to sleep. The clock hits 1 am.

Dharamsala, May 3
Ajay Singh Mankotia, brother of senior Congress leader Vijai Singh Mankotia, today joined the BJP. He joined the BJP in the presence of former minister Kishan Kapoor.

When asked about his joining the BJP while his brother was a prominent Congress leader, Ajay said he and his brother were two different personalities and had their own opinions.

He said, "My leaning had always been towards the BJP and I like the policies and programmes of the party. I was approached by BJP leaders and then decided to join the party," adding, "Joining the BJP will not affect relations with my brother."

Vijai Singh Mankotia, when contacted, said his brother's move of joining the BJP would not affect his family ties. There were various examples in which family members had joined rival political parties. Even in the Gandhi family, while Rahul Gandhi was in the Congress, his cousin Varun Gandhi was in the BJP.

Kishan Kapoor, while speaking on the occasion, said Ajay Singh Mankotia's entry into the BJP would strengthen the party. He said Ajay was perturbed at the rampant corruption committed by the Congress-led UPA government and so he had decided to join the BJP.

The political move assumes significance in view of the fact that Vijai Singh Mankotia had recently buried the hatchet with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh during the elections. Vijai Singh was peeved over not being given due importance in the Congress government, especially during programmes in Kangra.

He showed his dissidence by not participating in Rahul Gandhi's rally at Dharamsala. Later, Shanta Kumar, BJP candidate from the Kangra parliamentary constituency, met Vijai at his residence.

However, the Chief Minister too met Vijai Singh Mankotia at his residence. After the meeting, Vijai was accorded due importance in Kangra. In the recent past, even MLAs from Kangra belonging to the Virbhadra camp held a press conference under the leadership of Vijai Singh.

Now, his brother has joined the BJP. Ajay Singh Mankotia had usually stayed away from politics. He runs his hotel at McLeodganj.