The Modi wave, which was being rubbished by the Congress and its allies before the results of the lok Sabha polls, has reduced Himachal Congress to a trifle in its strong hold of Shimla parliamentary constituency.
Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister of the hill State had faced strong opposition from Bharatiya Janata Party in his own constituency Shimla (rural), which was earlier seen as an impregnable Congress fort.
Congress candidate Mohan lal Brakta got only 18, 522 votes while BJP’s victorious candidate, Virendra Kashyap, swept the constituency with 20,286 votes.Giving a humiliating defeat to the Congress, the BJP led in 15 places falling in the Shimla parliamentary constituency which consists of 17 constituencies.
In Rohru, however, the Congress managed to get a lead because it was the home turf of candidate Brakta. On the other hand, in Shillai, the Congress got a marginal lead of only 2,421 votes.It is the first ever election since Independence when the people of this hill State broke away from the spell of the feudal leaders, who have perpetrated atrocities on the innocent denizens.
During the campaigning in the state, Narendra Modi time and again reiterated about the bad governance of ‘pati-patni’, (husband and wife) in the state and ‘Maa-Beta’, (mother and son) at the Centre.
He bitterly decried against the ‘samant sahi’, (feudal system) let loose by Virbhadra Singh, who time and again boasts about his achievements.The extent of Modi’s connect with the people of the state can be analysed from the Theog constituency from where Vidya Stokes, Horticulture Minister of the state was reduced to a laughing stock.
It has been speculated that Stokes might replace, Raja Sahab as the next Chief-Minister, but still her larger than life picture failed to prevent her from a scathing defeat.