DHARAMSALA: The BJP’s has coined a laboured slogan for the Himachal Pradesh polls due November 12: ‘Riwaaz Badal Raha Hai’ (the tradition is changing). Two factors have apparently led the ruling party to shift its focus a bit: the party is straining itself to layer the Midas touch of PM Modi with a sliver of its own performance. Second, the party wants to return to power – an ambition pinned against the history of the state where the BJP and the Congress have taken turns to rule. So, will the BJP tactic work?
If the ground situation is any indication, local issues are driving the poll narrative. The issues at stake are: Old pension scheme, demands for a Central university, rehabilitation of Pong Dam oustees, railway connectivity, a high court bench in Dharamsala, bifurcation of Kangra, the state’s most politically significant district comprising 15 assembly segments, into four districts besides price rise and unemployment.
In absence of private jobs, the number of state government employees is 2.5 lakh. Nearly 1.5 lakh of them are covered under the New Pension Scheme, which allegedly ignores social security post-retirement. The demand has a huge financial implication as a reversion to the old would en tail an outgo of about Rs 700 crore – a massive amount for a small state that has limited revenue generation avenues.
New Pension Scheme Employees Association (NPSEA) vice president Kangra, Narayan Singh says every third employee is in favour of the OPS. The employees had gone on a chain hunger strike for about two months, suspending their stir after the model code of conduct came in, said Singh.
Congress is supporting the employee unions agitating for the OPS. In a recent meeting of government employees in Kangra, employees took a pledge that they and their family members would vote for Congress. The Congress believes that there are at least 2,000 employees in each assembly constituency who are in favour of OPS. “This chunk of voters could be a game changer,” said a party leader.
The other key issue is the state of the Central University headquartered in Dharamsala, It is operating from a temporary campus at Shahpur, Kangra, pending the construction of two permanent campuses, at Dehra and Dharamsala.
Students complain of commuting problems because the campus has not been fully constructed and hostels are located too far. “I am doing my MBA from the university. Our hostels are located far off. The Bus service barely exists forcing us to miss our classes. The entire campus should be in one place,’’ says Rahul Singh.
Another student Avinash Chandel says the Modi factor did have an impact in the last assembly and Lok Sabha polls. This time, however, it could work to an extent as local issues like road and rail link, health, education and jobs appear more important.
RTI activist Atul Bharadwaj says people of Kangra have given a new slogan: ‘Modi se bair nahin, Jai Ram teri khair nahi (no enmity with Modi, but we won’t spare Jai Ram Thakur)’. There is a plan to bifurcate Kangra, the state’s most politically significant district, which comprises 15 assembly segments, into four districts even as the contentious issue has backfired in the past.
