A must-win bypoll for Himachal CM, both Congress, BJP intensify campaigning in Dehra

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, July 5

All eyes are on the Dehra byelection as campaigning draws to conclusion. The Congress and the BJP have fielded senior leaders for the electoral battle that is revolving around Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. For the Congress, the Chief Minister himself is leading the campaign. For the past two days, the Congress has called Dehra as the Chief Minister’s constituency.

Power Share promise vs local candidate

• In the past about 20 days, the Congress has focused on making the residents of Dehra believe that the byelection is as an opportunity for them to have a share in power by electing the Chief Minister’s wife
• The Congress’ campaign has gained steam as no powerful leader has ever represented the Dehra constituency since it was carved out in 2012
• The BJP, on the other hand, has focused its campaign in Dehra on portraying Hoshiyar Singh as a local candidate
• Jai Ram Thakur claims that during his tenure as Chief Minister, he had sanctioned Rs 600 crore for the development of the Dehra segment at the behest of Hoshiyar Singh
• The BJP is highlighting the failures of the government

For the BJP, former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur and state party president Rajeev Bindal are spearheading the campaign. They are working in Dehra for the past more than a week.

For the Chief Minister, the Dehra byelection is a must-win battle as he will become the target of the dissident group in the Congress if Kamlesh tastes defeat. To strengthen the Congress’ position, the Chief Minister has promised to establish the offices of the SP and Superintending Engineer, Public Works Department, among other projects, in Dehra. He has also promised to help the Pong Dam oustees, who have been waiting from resettlement for the past more than 60 years. Their land and houses were submerged in the Pong Dam Lake.

In the past about 20 days, the Congress has focused on making the residents of Dehra believe that the byelection is as an opportunity for them to have a share in power by electing the Chief Minister’s wife.

The BJP, on the other hand, has focused its campaign in Dehra on portraying Hoshiyar Singh as a local candidate. Jai Ram Thakur claims that during his stint as Chief Minister, he had sanctioned Rs 600 crore for the development of Dehra at the behest of Hoshiyar Singh. Besides, the BJP has been highlighting the failures of the Congress government.

Both BJP and Congress have blamed each other for forcing the byelections on the state. The BJP has been alleging that the byelections are being held as the Chief Minister forced six Congress MLAs and three Independent legislators to resign from the Assembly due to his dictatorial behaviour. The Congress, on the other hand, has been alleging that the BJP had planned “Operation Lotus” in Himachal with the help of three former Independent MLAs and six rebel Congress MLAs to topple the state government.

Meanwhile, Hoshiyar Singh is having a hard time explaining to the electorate as to why he resigned as an Independent MLA just within 14 months of his five-year tenure to recontest the byelection when he could easily have supported the BJP.