HP Polls: Shimla to witness triangular contest

Shimla, Nov 1 – Shimla, which is mostly an urban and literate Assembly Constituency comprising people of various regions, ethnicity and religion, is facing a triangular contest between BJP, Congress, and CPI (M). However, AAP and an Independent candidate are also in the fray.
BJP has put up Sanjay Sood in the fray who belongs to Sood community and party projecting him as Chaiwala (Tea-vendor) and a commoner.
The Congress party, which has lost the previous three assembly polls in Shimla, has put up party two-time rebel and Virbhadra Singh loyalist Harish Janartha as party contender. Janartha is a former deputy mayor and hailed from Rohru area of Shimla district.
Former Deputy Mayor of Shimla Tekinder Panwar is in the fray from CPI(M), who entered public life from student politics and he belonged to Solan district from a Rajpoot family. AAP has fielded Chaman Rakesh, a local businessman. An Independent candidate and young Himachal Pradesh High court lawyer Abhishek Barowalia is also in the fray along with BSP candidate Rajesh Kumar Gill and Rashtriya Devbhumi Party’s (an upper caste party) Kalyan Singh.
There are about 48 thousand plus electorates in Shimla. The voters here comprise employees, ex-servicemen, businessmen, students, apple growers and migratory workers etc.
Most of the employees, ex-servicemen and apple growers and students are from the upper area of the Shimla district. There are around 8000 voters belonging to the upper area of the Shimla district. The pollsters consider that a huge chunk of votes gets polled in favour of Congress. BJP has a stronghold over the business community or traders.
Putting up Sood community candidate BJP tried to play cards of non-hills voters who have a strong presence. Out of seven candidates, only two belonged to hills and the rest are from non-hills. Tekinder Singh Panwar who belonged Solan district has a stronghold on employees, hotel workers and migratory workers and Muslim voters.
Congress candidates have a stronghold among Congress business voters and Employees and apple growers. BJP MLA Suresh Bhardwaj won in 2017 Assembly poll by a margin of around 1903 votes as Bhardwaj got 14012 votes, Harish Janarth (Independent) 12109, Harbhajan Singh Bajji(Cong) 2680 and Sanjay Chauhan (CPI(M) 3047 vote.
Congress could win from Shimla in 2017 if it didn’t deny a ticket to Janartha however party not made the same mistake. Suresh Bhardwaj who is Urban Development Minister and Law Minister did not get a ticket from Shimla and was given a ticket from Congress Bastion Kasumpti.
Sanjay Sood is the party Shimla Mandal Chief and greenhorns the state Electoral politics. He was elected Shimla MC councilor on BJP ticket. He is the party treasurer. Sanjay Sood has the support of 12000 to 13000 sood community votes if he succeeds to garner 75 pc sood votes. He would have a humble beginning of at least 9750 minimum votes. BJP having a strong anti-incumbency wave could have to bear the loss of the number of votes. There are around 4000 Gharwal or Uttrakhand votes that may be polled in favour of Sanjay Sood or Tekinder Singh Panwar as both candidates are strongholds on the community.
Tekinder Singh Panwar elected in 2012 Shimla Municipal Corporation Deputy Mayor direct election got 17800 votes defeating BJP has a strong presence in every street and Colony. He is riding on a bicycle from one ward to another and is a popular face in the town. He is lashing out BJP triple-engine Government for misuse of public funds for rackless concrete and iron superstructures and removing chiseled stone walls with heavy RCC structures. Tekinder Singh Panwar also lashed out ruling BJP for installing flowers pots in the jungle exposing Shimla MC to misuse of world bank and Assian Development Bank funding for building logistics and upgradation of mobility and water and sewerage system covered under the Smart City project. Sanjay sood, however, could not be directly responsible for the mess but BJP has to face the consequences owing to it. Shimla MC Election couldn’t be held in time due to a faulty delimitation process being done by the administration under the garb of the state government. Harish Janarth who have the support of Virbhadra Singh earlier is canvassing without his support. If Employees and pensioners who are in large numbers in the town being the state capital may help Janartha if they vote for OPS alone which Congress has promised. There is a sizable section of Congress business voters which may help Janartha.
BJP accused Harish Janarth to have a strong link with drugs and the Liquor cartel succeeded to confine check him under 12110 may be the strongest contender for the seat same issue was not figured against him. Suresh Bhardwaj who is a four-time MLA has a strong 4000 to 5000 vote bank, may help Tekinder Singh Panwar or prefer NOTA. Anti-incumbency also figures among hill voters against BJP as the party could not handle successive apple seasons and stood with corporate houses.
The businessmen and apple growers have a sizable presence among voters also agitating against exorbitant GST on packaging material and packed food items. AAP likely to confine its campaign in lower Himachal Pradesh has a strong influence and popular face. The OPS, inflation, construction and urban development like expansion in parking, and transport are some of the big issues among voters in the constituency.
Why anti-incumbency wave against BJP.
Triple-engine government has incumbency among the electoral as present MLA Suresh Bhardwaj who is winning consecutively for three terms. During BJP MC government town face the biggest water crisis of the last two centuries. The Shimla Development Plan which affects voters of towns and suburbs was declared illegal by National Green Tribunal. BJP came out with a controversial free housing scheme for the slum dwellers by passing legislation in the last monsoon session that couldn’t bring the issue to a logical conclusion. Out of 41 Smart City projects, 25 couldn’t be completed due to the NGT blanket ban on multistorey construction in the core and heritage areas. No progress was made to make alternate Transport systems and the privatization of water and sewerage systems forced to bear consumers who were being footed hefty bills. Jai Ram Thakur provides relaxation in power and water supply in the rural areas vis a vis to urban are discriminated urban areas by putting a massive burden of tax, user charges and fuel prices on the customer.
Urban woman have to face the burnt of costly LPG cylinder, exorbitant school fees and other collection. State Government couldn’t regulate the private school to end their monopoly moreover fee was increased many folds in the public education and professional Institution putting the every household to depend upon Educational loans. The every household budget was disturbed over increasing financial fraud and increasing burden of EMI on urban households. State government could not decrease increased installments or release of dues to Employees and pensioners after the implantation of the sixth pay commission. The state government could not provide solace to the dependents of those employees who died during the service. Rejecting their demand for the old pension scheme, Jai Ram Thakur challenged the employees to fight the Assembly poll if they are too keen to seek pensions like MPs and MLAs.