Shimla: Aam Aadmi Party is claiming to form the next government in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh even as the Congress and BJP are rejecting this claim outright saying the people of Himachal were “averse to a third option”. The AAP, bolstered by the landslide victory in neighbouring Punjab is trying to replicate the results in Himachal in the Assembly polls scheduled on November 12.
After whirlwind tours by AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia, the party has in its election manifesto, promised to improve the education and health sector in Himachal on the lines of the Delhi model. The party has promised to implement the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) if it comes to power. It has also promised a Rs 3,000 monthly allowance for unemployed youth and Rs 1,000 allowance for women in the age group of 18 to 60 years.
Besides, the party has also promised adequate power and water for people and a minimum support price (MSP) to farmers. The AAP's freebies notwithstanding, the party is unlikely to repeat the Punjab performance in Himachal for many reasons. The lack of a big face can overwhelm the party the most. According to senior journalist Baldev Sharma, the big faces the AAP the banking upon for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections have joined the BJP.
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Significantly, the ED has tightened the noose on Satyendra Jain whom AAP had made in-charge of Himachal, which is also likely to hurt the party's poll prospects, Sharma said. “Even in the election year, there was no party organisation in Himachal for a long time. The party has been accused of bringing crowds from Delhi and Punjab to project a following in Himachal.
In such a situation, it is, too, early to see the Aam Aadmi Party as a third option in Himachal,” quipped Sharma. As for the third option in Himachal Pradesh, from CPM to BSP, National Congress Party and Lok Janshakti Party, many parties have tried to provide an alternative but have not succeeded. Former BJP state and three-time Lok Sabha MP Maheshwar Singh separated from the party and formed Himachal Lokhit Party in 2012, but in the 2012 elections, he won the Assembly elections as the only MLA of his party and in 2017 he merged his party with BJP.
Pandit Sukh Ram, a former Union Minister and a strong leader of Congress, floated Himachal Vikas Congress. The party consisting of leaders, who broke away from Congress, won five seats in the 1998 elections and supported BJP, which formed the government. However, Himachal Vikas Congress also failed to form the Third Front. AAP has fielded candidates on all 68 seats in Himachal. However, sensing the relatively cold shoulder in the state, the party is said to have focused on Gujarat where the Assembly elections are also around the corner.
