- For the Indian citizens, the election scenario is unique and intriguing in its all-encompassing dynamics providing extremely entertaining optics to the discerning right through the entire process leading up to the polling day. No election in the country is less colourful, vibrant, and fascinating as the political parties in the fray go about impressing the electorate through tried and tested methodologies. Yes, we will be inundated with assurances, promises, reassurances, and incentives through party manifestos in an attempt to impress the electorate. It’s another matter altogether that most of those inducements merely remain on paper. Ideally speaking, the only criteria should be development and performance alone but that gets completely ignored, you see.
PC:
- As you are aware, some of the crucial states will be going to polls in the coming months including the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat. First out of the blocks will be HP. We know the two old rivals Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress are the main players vying to grab the attention of the voters. Aggressive and spirited electioneering has ensued over the last few weeks. Interestingly, an incumbent government hasn’t been re-elected in the state since 1990. However, that alone is no predictor of voter behaviour. Look at how states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and neighbouring Uttarakhand that would usually boot out governments have preferred incumbents to the opposition. This gives hope to the BJP in Himachal Pradesh this time around.
- BJP can also lay claim to a lot of infrastructure improvements in Himachal but the presence of a large number of rebels in the fray could upset either side’s electoral calculations. CM Jai Ram Thakur is bolstered by Congress’s failure to project a CM candidate as well as by Modi’s steadfast support for him. Notably, he served out his term in contrast to BJP’s midterm reshuffles in Gujarat, Karnataka, and Uttarakhand. But Himachal is also Congress’s best opportunity to reverse its losing streak in assembly elections since 2018. Note that Congress has had to contend with fewer rebels than BJP. However, the absence of a tall state-level leader was telling, forcing the central leadership to depute Priyanka Gandhi and Bhupesh Baghel to prop up worker morale.
PC: ROHIT MULLICK
- Nonetheless, beyond the politics, there’s something more impressive to comprehend. Remember, Himachal is an outlier among north India’s predominantly poor human development indices. It is only one of two states in the north to cross the Rs 2 lakh GSDP per capita threshold and is not a major pharmaceutical manufacturing powerhouse. Further, Himachal is among the states that have very low poverty levels. It has the second highest percentage of women with education till or beyond Class 12 and was the first state to finish Covid vaccination for all adults. That these impressive performances have coexisted with very competitive local politics speaks well of the governance abilities of both BJP and Congress in the state.
