Himachal: Parties jittery after AAP's landslide victory in Punjab Assembly poll

Pratibha Chauhan

Shimla, March 11

Fear of AAP making inroads into Himachal, especially in the border districts, seems to have gripped both BJP and Congress in Himachal after the party’s landslide victory in the neighbouring Punjab.

Even though AAP has negligible presence in Himachal, with practically no cadre base or leaders of standing, the apprehension of the Kejriwal party making its presence felt in the hill state in the Assembly polls, due later this year is already giving sleepless nights to most netas.

Even as the news of AAP’s historic win in Punjab had started trickling in, posters of Kejriwal started appeared in the state capital yesterday itself. State AAP in-charge Ratnesh Gupta said AAP offered an alternative to people who are fed up alternating between BJP and the Congress.

The news of AAP scouting for some credible faces, be it from the BJP or Congress to gain foothold in the hill state, is also doing the rounds in political circles. The party which has a skeletal party organization in the state is keen to rope in a tall leader having clean image.

AAP, despite announcing that it would field candidates in the 2017 Assembly polls, failed to do so. However, it is certain that having emerged victorious in the neighbouring Punjab, now they would want their presence felt in Himachal. The Shimla Municipal Corporation elections, due anytime in April-May, will be the first test of AAP for testing its popularity in Himachal.

AAP has only tried its luck unsuccessfully in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when it fielded candidates from all the four parliamentary seats of Kangra, Mandi, Shimla and Hamirpur. Barring former minister in the BJP regime Rajan Sushant who polled about 20,000 from Kangra seat, the other three AAP candidates had forfeited their security.

Attempts by AAP to field Kamal Kant Batra, mother of Kargil hero Capt Vikram Batra from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, failed to pay off as she lost her security deposit along with the other two candidates from Mandi and Shimla.

However, now, sitting MLAs or senior leaders from both the BJP and Congress, who are denied the Assembly poll ticket, will have an alternative in AAP to try their electoral fortunes.