Ahead of the Assembly elections of Himachal Pradesh, which are due later this year, the political outreach of parties including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress, and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) have started to gain momentum in the hill state.
A day after BJP national president J.P. Nadda held a roadshow in State’s politically significant Kangra district, the Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday also held a rally in Kangra’s Shahpur. The Congress party members also held a ‘foot-march’ in the Harchakian town of the district, raising the pitch of electioneering in the State.
While Mr. Kejriwal sought a chance from voters in Himachal Pradesh ahead of the Assembly polls, promising that AAP will give an honest government in the State, the Congress members, led by senior party leader and general secretary Kewal Singh Pathania staged a protest against rising inflation, unemployment, corruption among other issues.
Addressing a rally at Shahpur in Kangra district, Mr. Kejriwal accused both the Congress and the BJP of failing to perform despite being given several chances to rule the State over the years.
“People of Himachal Pradesh have given a lot of opportunities to the Congress and BJP to form the government in the State, but now give the AAP a chance. The problems faced by people in the State are because of the incompetence of these two parties. The AAP is a party of honest people and we will eradicate corruption. I don’t know how to do politics, but I know how to work to open schools, improve education, I know how to provide health facilities and cheap electricity.
“We have performed in Delhi and now in Punjab as well the AAP government is doing great work. In both the States we have eradicated corruption,” he said.
In Harchakian town, the Congress members held a protest march and shouted slogans against the central and state governments of the BJP. Accusing the BJP governments of framing anti-people policies with the sole aim of crushing the poor under the burden of ever high prices of petrol, diesel and LPG, the Congress members demanded immediate withdrawal of the hike in domestic gas and fuel prices.
“The BJP stands completely exposed before the people on all the fronts. The State is facing rising unemployment, the health sector has collapsed, and corruption is rampant. We are following the footsteps of our leader Rahul Gandhi and our aim is to unmask the anti-people policies and their adverse effects. While Mr. Gandhi has been consistently raising his voice against the BJP policies in the Parliament, we are going door to door to aware the people that the BJP government does not have any roadmap to solve their problems,” said Mr. Pathania, adding that in the coming day’s party would intensify its agitations across the State.
On Friday, the BJP national president had addressed a gathering at Kangra’s Nagrota Bagwan after holding a roadshow in the town, stepping up the party’s election campaign in the run-up to the Assembly polls.
