In Himachal, both the BJP and the Congress are in the process of deciding the election candidates. Election nominations are starting from tomorrow and both the national parties have not been ready the final candidate list yet. At the same time, congress is facing the voices of rebellion. People of Himachal sniff the in-house problem of the Himachal Congress on Social media.
BJP and Congress want to win the election at any cost, but mutual schism will be-come a big hindrance. Congress who is already struggling desperately for Himachal to come to power, but the rebellions are making Himachal Congress’s path full of hindrances. Former Congress MLA Subhash Mangalet from the Chaupal area of Shimla district made a direct threat to State In-charge Rajeev Shukla on social media.
Congress has almost finalised the ticket of party general secretary Rajneesh Kimta from Shimla’s Chaupal assembly seat, but former MLA Subhash Mangalet has been opposing. Congress in-charge Rajeev Shukla himself took over the command for Kimta and despite a lot of opposition, his name was also decided. Still, Subhash Mangalet is furious and he has also vented fierce anger on social media. Subhash Mangalet directly targeted Rajeev Shukla on his social media account. He has written on his social media account not to worry. I am coming to contest elections. I am bringing the ticket of the people of Chaupal. I am going to the assembly in 2022. Satyameva Jayate. He has written that “Congress-BJP people are not hated, Rajiv Shukla Teri Khair Nahi.” Subhash Mangalet has been MLA from Chaupal seat for two times, he was also made the chairman of the State Marketing Board in the government of Virbhadra Singh.
Congress has played 10 guarantees to win the Himachal elections, but taking these guarantees to the public is a challenge for Congress, as there is division and fac-tionalism in the party organization. The leadership of the party in the state is divided into two factions.
Congress made a big change in the organizational setup in April 2022 this year by making Pratibha Singh, wife of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, and Lok Sa-bha MP from Mandi, the President of the State Congress Committee. Senior leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has been appointed as the chairman of the election campaign committee. Kuldeep Singh Rathod, MP Pratibha Singh, senior leaders Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Asha Kumari, Ramlal Thakur and Mukesh Agnihotri have their own factions. In such a situation, even if the election is won, the mutual split will put it on the verge of distrust from the very beginning. In the Himachal by-elections held last year, the Congress defeated the ruling BJP 4-0. Due to this, the spirits of Congress leaders and workers are high, but due to the crushing defeat in 5 states, the morale of the Congressmen has also been dropped. In such a situation, Congress needs a popular face, who can take all the leaders along and can also garner public support.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP won this seat by a margin of over 4 lakh votes. Virbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha Singh was elected MP from here in the by-election last year. The ruling BJP had to face the loss in the home district of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, but this face is now sorely missed.
