The election results show the BJP swiftly moving towards an undisputed win in Himachal Pradesh. There is reason for the Congress to be worried in the state.
Where was Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the leadership when 83-year-old Dhumal was campaigning for the party alone in Himachal? They seemed to have given up even before giving a real fight to the BJP on the ground.
Now, if this was the Congress’ strategy to let Singh campaign alone, thinking he would wield enough influence to help them form government, then it may have backfired.
Corruption charges against Virbhadra Singh made many headlines, but the Congress leadership distanced themselves from the incumbent CM. Singh and his family’s repeated defence was that this was happening due to a personal vendetta the BJP had against them.
Should they have done more to support that argument? After all, Virbhadra Singh was only an accused, not pronounced guilty by court.
Could they have dared to put another face as the contender to be Himachal’s CM? Well, they could, but then again, who do they have? The Congress rarely ever has a number 2 to take on after a strong regional leader – a problem that the BJP has never had.
Not just these concerns, but the Congress also has to answer if they lost touch with certain ground realities.
Did they not take the fallout from the Gudhiya rape case seriously? Or the serious lack of jobs in the education hub of Himachal, Solan? What about the apple industry, which lakhs of people relied on? When around 50 percent of the production was affected by an untimely hailstorm, didn’t the Congress need to do more than just increase MSP by 0.25 paisa?
All these concerns were pertinent to win over votes, but did the Congress do enough?
Isn’t the Congress concerned about who the party will rely on after Virbhadra Singh? The Lok Sabha elections are in 2019 and the assembly elections in 2022, are they planning to continue to rely on Virbhadra Singh to help them win in the hill-state?
The difference in the projection of seats scream worry for the Congress.
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