With the BJP camp divided between two contenders, this time it could be a close battle with the Congress
Early morning on December 20, 2012, the day the Himachal Pradesh assembly poll votes were counted, Prem Kumar Dhumal, then the incumbent BJP chief minister, called his ‘good friend’ Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar to wish him luck (counting was under way in Gujarat too), perhaps hoping for some of the ‘Modi Magic’ to rub off on him. But it wasn’t to be. Three hours later, while Modi romped home to a fourth successive term in office, Dhumal prepared to felicitate his arch Congress rival, Virbhadra Singh.
As voters in the hill state prepare to elect its 13th Vidhan Sabha on November 9, the BJP is waiting its ‘turn’ in office. And it’s not an unreasonable expectation, given the alternating Congress-BJP cycle witnessed here since the post-Emergency polls in 1977 when Shanta Kumar trounced the Y.S. Parmar-led Congress to become the first saffron chief minister. Himachalis have never repeated a government since, barring the single exception in 1985, when the Congress replaced the tainted T. Ram Lal with Virbhadra, ahead of the polls.
But the BJP has a problem this time. Unlike earlier assembly elections, where Himachal Pradesh’s 4.9 million voters were reasonably certain of who their chief ministerial choices were, the party is headed into the coming polls without a CM face. This, while the Congress, usually a laggard, went ahead and named Virbhadra its CM candidate well before the announcement of the election schedule on October 12.
Bu hikaye India Today dergisinin October 30, 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye India Today dergisinin October 30, 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
WHAT WOMEN WANT
While political parties give them schemes and promises based on their gendered roles, women across the country tell INDIA TODAY what they really expect-jobs, education, development-the same things that men desire
The Silent Revolution
A Growing Force, The Woman Elector In India Is Realising The Power Of Her Vote And Using It To ***direct Her Own And The Nation's Destiny
The Forbidding Fruit
The disturbed snow cycle, the price of imported urea, cheaper imports from the South Asian neighbourhood-the whole world, it would appear, has been conspiring against the apple farmers of Himachal Pradesh.
Chicken Soup for the Heart
Former veejay, actor and now travel influencer, Shenaz Treasury is out with a book based on past romances-All He Left Me Was a Recipe
CITY OF DREAMS
This anthology of stories about Mumbai is like the city itself-crowded and chaotic, but ultimately illuminating
Diverse Vignettes
Edited by Arunava Sinha, The Penguin Book of Bengali Short Stories is a landmark new anthology which includes several previously untranslated works
A BREATH OF FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Ganesh V. Shivaswamy brings a sharp and balanced approach to his three volumes on Raja Ravi Varma
Time Travel
An exhibition in Bengaluru is showcasing an unseen artwork by legendary artist Raja Ravi Varma
INDIA AT CANNES 2024
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival marks the first time in 30 years that India has a feature film in the Palme d'Or competition section. And there's lots more...
Cusp of Greatness
Shriya Pilgaonkar comes into her own as an intrepid reporter in Zee5's The Broken News