BJP hopes to dislodge Virbhadra Singh government by focusing on corruption and ‘deteriorating’ law and order situation in the state.
With the assembly election in Himachal Pradesh round the corner, the BJP is set to launch a multipronged attack on the Congress to wrest power from the latter in the state. It has devised a strategy to target chief minister Virbhadra Singh over corruption cases and what it calls deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
Himachal is the only state in north India, apart from Punjab, which is under Congress rule. Here, the BJP is gearing up to dislodge the Congress government by focusing on the CM, who is facing a CBI probe in a disproportionate assets case.
The BJP will also highlight the recent arrest of an IG of police in connection with the custodial death of a rape-cum-murder accused.
“CM bail pe, IG jail mein” (CM is on bail, IG is in jail) is how BJP leader from the state and Lok Sabha MP, Anurag Thakur, describes the law and order situation in Himachal.
He said this slogan best sums up the overall situation of Himachal Pradesh. Sources said BJP national president Amit Shah had already identified steps to be taken by the state unit during election campaigning.
BJP’s focus this time is women voters. Out of 48 lakh voters in Himachal, approximately 23.35 lakhs are women. The party has started holding district-level meetings to woo women.
According to Thakur, BJP’s Mahila Morcha has never been so active in the state before. “It is unusual for Himachal Pradesh to have such a large number of women in political rallies. Now, they sit for hours to hear BJP leaders. Women no longer feel safe under the Virbhadra government as the crime graph has gone up,” said Thakur.
BJP sources claimed there is a sense of unease in the Congress camp and that many senior functionaries, including ministers, are in touch with the BJP leaders.
Thakur said, “BJP has a future in the state and even senior leaders from the Congress have understood this. Many are in touch with us and are likely to switch sides ahead of the assembly elections.”
BJP sources said that if a section of Congress veterans joins the BJP, it would lower the morale of the rest of the Congress workers.