Even as less than a week is left for filing the nomination papers for the Vidhan Sabha elections, the two main parties — Congress and BJP are yet to finalise the list of their candidates.
The last date of filing the nominations is October 23 for the November 9 Assembly polls in the state.
The late finalisation of the names has caused a lot of confusion and embarrassment among the contesting candidates of both Congress and the BJP. They are questioning why the dates of Himachal were announced early and that of Gujarat delayed.
On the condition of anonymity, a senior BJP leader said that there was serious infighting within the party delaying the announcement of names. He feared repetition of the last elections when power was served to Virbhadra Sigh on a platter thanks to the bitter infighting between factions of Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal, both former chief ministers of the dtate.
BJP sources lament that the overconfidence of top brass of the BJP leadership of taking Himachal Pradesh for granted may prove nightmarish for them. “The BJP must see the ground realities,” he said..
local leaders said that Himachal Pradesh is predominantly a Rajput dominated state and caste matters in the polls.
What goes in favour of BJP is the fact that during the long rule of Congress government in Himachal Pradesh. many mega scams had rocked the country and no investigation or inquiry was ordered against the scandals.
The Congress too is not very optimistic at this point of time. Its leaders too admit that the prospects of the party has taken a hit. Cabinet minister Anil Sharma, son of former Union Minister Sukh Ram, has done it and some other leaders too are looking for opportunities to desert the party.
At a news conference, Anil Sharma bemoaned that breaking old ties with Congress was painful. But he blamed Virbhadra Singh saying the chief minister publically insulted and humiliated his father---90-year old veteran Congress leader Sukhram. Thousands of Congress leaders of Mandi and Tungal Valley have simultaneously joined BJP alongwith Sukh Ram and Anil Sharma.
But the woes of BJP continues in the state. There is lot of resentment among prospective BJP candidates including the top leaders of the party against changing their decades old segments. They allege it as deep-rooted conspiracy and an exercise in futility to damage the party.