Himachal CM Sukhvinder Sukhu’s prestige at stake in triangular bypoll fight

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, May 29

The Dharamsala Assembly byelection has emerged as a battle of prestige for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu and Congress rebel and now BJP candidate Sudhir Sharma. A keen contest is on the cards between Sudhir and Congress candidate Davinder Jaggi as campaigning is nearing conclusion.

The Chief Minister has been blaming Sudhir Sharma for engineering a revolt in the Himachal Congress, terming him as the head of six Congress rebel MLAs. He has till date organised eight public meetings in the Dharamsala Assembly segment in favour of Jaggi. In the meetings he levelled allegations of corruption against Sudhir Sharma saying that he had bought 82 properties in and around Dharamsala in the name of his driver. The Chief Minister’s rallies have given strength to Jaggi’s campaign.

Blame game goes on

• The Chief Minister has been blaming Sudhir Sharma for engineering revolt in Himachal Congress and terming him as head of six Congress rebel MLAs. He has till date organised eight public meetings in Dharamsala for Congress nominee Davinder Jaggi. The CM is likely to hold rallies in Dharamsala even on the last day of campaigning on May 30.
• Sudhir Sharma has been maintaining that he resigned fighting for rights of Dharamsala Assembly constituency. The Chief Minister had been adamant at not releasing Rs 30 crores for bringing up CUHP North Campus in Jadrangal.

Sources said that the Chief Minister was likely to hold rallies in Dharamsala even on the last day of campaigning on May 30. Sudhir Sharma, on the other hand, has been terming the Dharamsala byelection as a battle between him and the Chief Minister. He has been saying at public meetings that he had resigned fighting for the rights of the Dharamsala constituency. The Chief Minister had been adamant on not releasing Rs 30 crore for the transfer of forestland for the campus of the CUHP at Jadrangal in Dharamsala, Sudhir alleged in public meetings.

Sudhir also countered the corruption allegations levelled against him by the Chief Minister saying that he was ready to surrender any property in his name beyond what he had declared in his election affidavit. The Congress leaders have been maintaining that the entire effort of their campaign was develop a perception among people against Sudhir Sharma that he had deserted the Congress for personal gains. Sudhir, on the other hand, has been maintaining that he left Congress to fight for the developmental projects of Dharamsala that were allegedly stalled by the CM.

Congress candidate Davinder Jaggi, who is also a former Mayor of Dharamsala, has been concentrating his campaign in and around Dharamsala city. Sudhir Sharma, who was declared a candidate by BJP in the month April, had enough time to cover the entire Assembly constituency. Independent candidate Rakesh Chaudhary is concentrating his election campaign in rural areas that are dominated by OBC voters. Sources here said that Chaudhary has not been carrying out his election campaign aggressively.