Lok Sabha poll: Unresolved issues continue to haunt electorate in Himachal Pradesh

With the last leg of Lok Sabha election, the state of hills- Himachal Pradesh- is all set to witness polls at four parliamentary constituencies comprising Shimla (reserved), Mandi, Kangra and Hamirpur on May 19, 2019. Being a bastion of Bharitya Janta Party (BJP), the state has a history of bipolar elections with the BJP and the Congress main political parties.

In 2014 general elections, the electorate was influenced by the Narendra Modi “wave” and voted all the four nominees of the saffron party to power. However, the party failed to fulfill the poll promises during its five years of rule. The issues like building four lanes on the national highways, extension of Nangal-Una railway line to Hamirpur, construction of AIIMS in Bilaspur, agrarian distress, drugs, tourism, hike in import duty on apples, setting up fruit processing units, providing jobs to youth, doubling farmers’ income etc. continue to haunt general public of the state.

Even the government employees are also upset with the ruling party for not revising their pension scheme despite the promise made in 2014.

Failing to come up to the expectations of general public, the BJP, ruling in the state and in the centre, is facing anti-incumbency which may benefit the Congress this time. Moreover, the saffron party is also facing severe infighting this time.

Infighting is simmering in the BJP, especially in the Hamirpur constituency, where three-time MP Anurag Thakur, who former state Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal’s son, is trying his luck for the fourth time on BJP ticket. Anurag Thakur is not only facing Congress candidate Ram Lal Thakur but also his own colleague and former four-time BJP MP from this seat, Suresh Chandel who joined the Congress after the BJP denied him ticket.

According to political analysts, the construction of four lanes on the Kiratpur – Nerchowk Express Highway (KNEH) that has come to a standstill due to financial crunch for the past one year, is influencing thousands of voters and has become a cause of worry for both the BJP and the Congress candidates of Hamirpur and Mandi parliament constituencies.

Jatinder Chandel, a resident of Bilaspur town, claims this has not only dragged many contractors on the verge of bankruptcy but also adversely affected the livelihood of many villages and those who has set up their business establishments along the highway.
Four lane express highway would facilitate thousands of tourists traveling regularly between Manali and Chandigarh, and will be considered one of the life-lines of Himachal by reducing the distance by 36 kms, claimed Dharam Prakash Gupta, a resident of Mandi town.

Last year the BJP led union government sanctioned 63.1 km long Bhanupali-Bilaspur-Beri railway line at an estimated cost of ₹6769 crore, 50 km long Una-Hamirpur railway line at a cost of ₹3044.10 crore, 33.23 km long Chandigarh-Baddi railway line at a cost of ₹1540 crore, and 112.9 km long Nangal Dam-Talwara railway line at a cost of ₹2528.49 crore for the expansion of railway network in the state but not even a single brick has been laid to initiate these projects.

“Majority of the projects were scheduled to be taken up in Hamirpur constituency. But the BJP leaders are not even talking about these issues. Even the BJP National President Amit Shah addressed an election rally in support of Anurag Thakur in Hamirpur, recently, asked public to “forget development, just vote for Modi and get your problems solved”, this came as a major disappointment for the people, claimed a Ravinder Singh of  Hamirpur.

“On October 3, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched three mega central projects in Bilaspur town, including laying the foundation stone for the 750-bed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The ₹1,350 crore project failed to take off till date even though it is to be set up in the home district of Union Health Minister JP Nadda.

To influence electorate, state Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Nadda, performed a ground-breaking ceremony in Kothipura (where the institute is to be built) in May 2019. This was just another eye wash and cruel joke with the innocent people of the area,” claimed Thakur Ram Lal, Congress candidate from Hamirpur seat.

Rakesh Singha, Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA from Theog is of the view that the real issues have been sidelined by the ruling BJP, adding that the issues of employment, agrarian distress, non-repayment of loans are not being discussed. The tall claims of PM Narendra Modi to double farmers’ income have proved a cruel joke with the farmers, he claimed. Singha adds, “Himachal suffers from national calamities, but no leader is highlighting the problems. The people have seen very poor governance in the last five years, but there is no Modi wave this time," he claimed.

“Despite development of Dharmsala as a Smart City, drug menace, benami property, haphazard and illegal urbanisation and tourism are some of the major issues in Kangra Lok Sabha seat. No one is raising these issues. The performance of the former BJP MP Shanta Kumar was below poor while the leaders of ruling BJP government have virtually proved incompetent as of now,” claims Surinder Sharma, a resident of Palampur.