By Online Desk
The BJP might have headed to the Himachal Pradesh elections with their ‘riwaz badal raha hai’ (the tradition is changing) slogan. But it remained just that — a slogan. The Congress is set to return to power after five years, the flight of their MLAs to Chandigarh notwithstanding.
The BJP had centred their election around PM Modi. “Each vote given to ‘Lotus’ (the BJP poll symbol) will be a vote for Modi himself,” state party leaders had declared.
The major factors at play in deciding the elections possibly include history — Himachal has not returned any incumbent government to power after 1985.
High unemployment also played a part. At 8.6% in October, these numbers are a full per cent more than the national average, according to CMIE data.
No wonder, the Agnipath scheme floated by the BJP government at the Centre recently provoked a lot of heartburn in a state that prides itself in having the maximum number of Param Vir Chakra recipients. The list includes Major Somnath Sharma, the first winner.
LIVE | Assembly elections results: BJP sweeping Gujarat, Congress ahead in Himachal
The Congress’ promise to restore the Old Pension Scheme was another vote winner, our correspondent Harpreet Bajwa stressed.
The angst of the apple growers and the BJP rebels — 21 of them leaving to fight the elections being proof — too worked against the ruling party.
Environmental issues dominated the electoral landscape in the tribal regions, especially in Lahaul and Spiti, and Kinnaur, with the voters asking the candidates to clarify their stand on new hydroelectric projects and implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA). The tribal districts reverberated with a ‘No Means No’ campaign against new hydroelectric projects after a series of landslides took place last year. The residents were also demanding that the candidates clarify their stance on the amendment made in the FRA earlier this year, which revoked the condition of getting a no-objection certificate from panchayats for construction of dams.
Finally, this being a vote against the BJP is underlined by a simple fact — despite CM Jai Ram Thakur winning by a huge margin, many ministers ended up losing.
The BJP might have headed to the Himachal Pradesh elections with their ‘riwaz badal raha hai’ (the tradition is changing) slogan. But it remained just that — a slogan. The Congress is set to return to power after five years, the flight of their MLAs to Chandigarh notwithstanding.
The BJP had centred their election around PM Modi. “Each vote given to ‘Lotus’ (the BJP poll symbol) will be a vote for Modi himself,” state party leaders had declared.
The major factors at play in deciding the elections possibly include history — Himachal has not returned any incumbent government to power after 1985.
High unemployment also played a part. At 8.6% in October, these numbers are a full per cent more than the national average, according to CMIE data.
No wonder, the Agnipath scheme floated by the BJP government at the Centre recently provoked a lot of heartburn in a state that prides itself in having the maximum number of Param Vir Chakra recipients. The list includes Major Somnath Sharma, the first winner.
LIVE | Assembly elections results: BJP sweeping Gujarat, Congress ahead in Himachal
The Congress’ promise to restore the Old Pension Scheme was another vote winner, our correspondent Harpreet Bajwa stressed.
The angst of the apple growers and the BJP rebels — 21 of them leaving to fight the elections being proof — too worked against the ruling party.
Environmental issues dominated the electoral landscape in the tribal regions, especially in Lahaul and Spiti, and Kinnaur, with the voters asking the candidates to clarify their stand on new hydroelectric projects and implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA). The tribal districts reverberated with a ‘No Means No’ campaign against new hydroelectric projects after a series of landslides took place last year. The residents were also demanding that the candidates clarify their stance on the amendment made in the FRA earlier this year, which revoked the condition of getting a no-objection certificate from panchayats for construction of dams.
Finally, this being a vote against the BJP is underlined by a simple fact — despite CM Jai Ram Thakur winning by a huge margin, many ministers ended up losing.
