CUHP campus priority for candidates
Lalit Mohan
Dharamsala, May 16
The Dharamsala Assembly bypoll will witness a triangular contest involving rebel Congress MLA and now BJP candidate Sudhir Sharma, Congress candidate and former Mayor of Dharamsala Davinder Jaggi and Independent candidate Rakesh Chaudhary.
To focus on infra development
My focus would be the development of infrastructure and the creation of jobs in the IT and tourism sectors in Dharamsala. — Sudhir Sharma, BJP Candidate
Land transfer for cuhp campus
The BJP failed to resolve the CUHP issue. After the poll, the government will deposit the amount needed for the transfer of land at Jadrangal. — Davinder Jaggi, Congress Candidate
Expediting work on stalled projects
Speeding up stalled projects such as the Unity Mall proposed in Dagwar, IT park in Chaitaru and OBC Bhavan are among my priorities. — Rakesh Chaudhary, Independent nominee
All candidates are vouching for the development of the Dharamsala Assembly constituency, bringing up the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) north campus at Jadrangal area and other development projects such as an IT park.
Congress candidate Davinder Jaggi terms Sudhir Sharma as a traitor while the latter says that he has made a sacrifice for the development of the Dharamsala constituency. Rakesh Chaudhary, who is fighting as an Independent candidate, blames both main political parties for ignoring Dharamsala.
Sudhir Sharma, when asked about his vision for the constituency, said as Dharamsala was on the international tourism map there was a need to create infrastructure to cater to the demands of local people and floating population of tourists coming to the area. “My focus would be development of infrastructure and creation of jobs in IT and tourism sector in Dharamsala,” he said.
Sharma said that bringing up the CUHP campus at Jadrangal in the Dharamsala Assembly constituency, IT park, upgrade of the Dagwar milk plant and creating employment in rural areas through women self-help groups would be his priorities for Dharamsala if he was elected an MLA.
Asked as to what compelled him to quit the Congress and resign as an MLA, Sudhir said that the biased and vindictive approach of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu towards development projects in Dharamsala forced him to resign from the Congress and join the BJP.
Sukhu had stalled the CUHP campus proposed in Dharamsala and was creating bottlenecks in the progress of almost every development project in the constituency. “I raised my voice against the stalled projects in the party, in the Assembly and then in public but when nothing happened, I decided to leave the party in the interest of my constituency,” he said.
He said that bad governance of the Congress regime, no accountability and unfulfilled promises would decide the voting pattern in the forthcoming byelection.
Asked about his vision for the Dharamsala Assembly constituency, Davinder Jaggi said that CUHP campus at Jadrangal in Dharamsala would be his top priority. Most of the leaders, who were elected earlier from Dharamsala, had played politics over the issue. The BJP failed to resolve the issue though it had government at the Centre as well as in the state. As soon as the elections get over, the Congress government would deposit the amount required for the transfer of land at Jadrangal in the name of the CUHP, he added.
He said that bringing up an IT Park and the proposed Unity Mall would be his other priorities in case he was elected. Bringing up parking areas and providing facilities in merged areas of the Dharamsala MC would also be his areas of concern.
About the six rebel Congress MLAs, Jaggi said that they had deserted the party and the mandate given to them by the people of their constituencies. He added that the people of Dharamsala would vote for the Congress as development was possible only if the area has a ruling party representative. People are angry with Sudhir Sharma for deserting the party, he claimed.
Rakesh Chaudhary, while campaigning in rural areas of Dharamsala today, said his foremost priority would be to bringing up of the campus of the CUHP. The project was of utmost importance for the development of the area and was being delayed for political reasons. Speeding up wok on stalled projects such as the proposed Unity Mall in the Dagwar area, IT park in Chaitaru and the OBC Bhavan were also his priorities.
Asked why he quit the BJP and was now contesting as an Independent candidate, Chaudhary said that he had joined the party in 2022 and thought that it would help him expedite development in Dharamsala. “However, people did not like my joining the BJP. They wanted me to contest as an Independent candidate. So, I resigned from the BJP and am now contesting as an Independent candidate,” he added.
