Congress has planned a full-throttle campaign in Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled next month. The party will take up issues like price rise and unemployment and go all out to exploit the huge anti-incumbency to wrest power from the ruling BJP. The party has included Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot as one of the star campaigners besides outgoing party chief Sonia Gandhi, president-elect Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel. AICC sources said the party has to bank on the legacy of the tallest leader of the state late Virbhadra Singh to prevent BJP to retain. The grand old party is, however, faced with internal rumblings and defections of some of its old timers in the recent past that may affect its performance at the hustings.
The party has fielded some young leaders, including former chief minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya and ex-minister B D Bali's son Raghubir Bali.
However, the absence of a tall leader like Virbhadra Singh, who steered the party to many a victory, is being felt in a big way even though his wife Pratibha Singh is leading the charge currently.
The party has made a host of promises to woo the voters in the state. These include the restoration of the old pension scheme, 300 units of free power, payment of Rs 1,500 to women, and government jobs to all those working on outsourced employment, which is catching the attention of voters so far. Himachal has seen alternate governments of the BJP and the Congress for many decades now, and that is what the Congress has pinned its hopes on.
From the state, senior leader Anand Sharma, Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh, CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri and former state party chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu feature in the list of star campaigners. The Congress has announced 67 candidates for the upcoming polls, while the party is yet to announce its candidate for the Hamirpur seat.
The Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh is 68-members strong. This time, the election is likely to witness a two-cornered contest between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, which is eyeing to wrest back power after its defeat in 2017. The party has also decided to go to polls without declaring a chief ministerial candidate.
The party will focus more on small rallies at the district level against only four bigger ones of Priyanka. “People are excited with Priyanka ji taking the lead. She has one home that too in Himachal. The state was formed by her grandmother and she loved the people of Himachal Pradesh," said Sukhi.