Intense Statements from Mandi Seat Candidates

Dull Election Atmosphere in Himachal Pradesh

The political environment in Himachal Pradesh’s three other constituencies has been overshadowed due to the sharp statements from the candidates for the Mandi parliamentary seat. Attention from the BJP, Congress high commands, as well as the nation, state, and Bollywood, is focused on the Mandi parliamentary seat. BJP has placed its bet on Bollywood queen Kangana Ranaut, while Congress has stirred political waves by fielding Vikramaditya Singh, son of former Chief Minister Veer Bhadra Singh. Currently, the election campaign is at its peak on the Mandi parliamentary seat. The daily statements from both party candidates are making headlines.

While BJP and Congress leaders continue to accuse each other, the candidates themselves are leaving no stone unturned to criticize one another. However, party leaders are advising the candidates to refrain from making personal attacks and focus on the issues. BJP has already announced its candidates for all four parliamentary constituencies in Himachal Pradesh, while Congress has announced candidates only for the Mandi and Shimla seats. Apart from Mandi, the election atmosphere is relatively subdued in Shimla, Kangra, and Hamirpur. Rallies and campaigns are ongoing in these areas, but the fervor is not as intense as in Mandi, where both party candidates and leaders are more aggressive towards each other.

Congress leaders are accusing the central government’s policies, lack of cooperation in times of disaster, corruption, and alleged purchase of rebel Congress MLAs, while BJP leaders are raising issues like unemployment among youth, deception of women in the name of the Mahila Samman Nidhi, and denial of benefits under schemes like Ayushman and Himcare. BJP has entrusted all its MLAs, including the leader of the opposition Jairam Thakur, with election responsibilities in the Mandi parliamentary constituency. BJP candidate Kangana has been actively participating in election campaign rallies alongside the MLAs. On the other hand, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukkhu, Pradesh Congress President Pratibha Singh, senior leader Jagat Singh Negi, Sundar Thakur, Nand Lal, Kaul Singh Thakur, Sohan Lal, and others are actively involved in the election campaign for Vikramaditya.