Stepping up its campaign ahead of the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, slated for November 12, the ruling BJP on Sunday held simultaneous rallies in all 68 constituencies under its ‘Vijay Sankalp’ campaign.
BJP President J.P. Nadda, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal among others addressed series of rallies.
Addressing a rally in Nurpur, Mr. Thakur said people had made up their mind to put the party back in power for another term. “This time the people of the State have made up their mind to change the “rivaz” [tradition] of alternate governments after every five years,” he said.
Pointing out that the BJP had done immense work to protect the interests of government employees, Mr. Thakur said “Only BJP can solve the issue of the Old Pension Scheme. The Congress is working to mislead people only for political gains on the issue.”
Lists achievements
The Chief Minister said that despite the difficult conditions during his tenure of five years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked sincerely for all the segments of society, especially the poor people. “We have delivered tap water house-to-house and waived water bills. We also relieved the poor people from the tension of medical treatment. We are providing free treatment under Himcare and Ayushman scheme. The Congress, during its regime, could not provide employment to even 5,000 people, but our government gave jobs to more than 60,000 people. The Congress did nothing for the poor. They [the Congress] remained in power a number of times, who stopped them from giving financial help for the marriage of daughters of the poor families? But the BJP always stands with the poor,” he said.
Addressing a rally at Kaza in Lahaul Spiti, Mr. Nadda said that earlier there used to be anti-incumbency in politics and elections, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi had added the concept of pro-incumbency in the politics of India. “When there is the right leadership, a policy of development, an intention to work, then there is no anti-incumbency but pro-incumbency. And hence people are all set to bring the BJP back to power,” he said.
Slams AAP
Hitting out at the Aam Aadmi Party, Mr. Nadda said “The AAP came here in the name of political tourism but now they have left Himachal Pradesh and gone to Gujarat because Himachal Pradesh is close to Delhi and Punjab, and people here have got all information about the AAP’s disappointing performances. The AAP realised that their lies are not going to work in Himachal and hence they packed their bags and ran to Gujarat, but let me tell that the people of Gujarat have already decided to form the BJP government once again,” he said.
BJP State president Suresh Kashyap claimed that close to three lakh people participated in the party’s ‘Vijay Sankalp” campaign. He said Mr. Thakur and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had left no stone unturned for the development of Himachal.
