Campaigning for Himachal by-polls picks up

Shimla, Nov 3 : With less than 56 hours left for the end of campaigning for the by-elections for two assembly constituencies, electioneering has finally picked up in Himachal Pradesh.

Though no national leader of either of the main political parties in the state - the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress - has so far made his or her presence felt during the campaign, state leaders are trying to woo the voters of Rohru and Jawali.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal of the BJP and union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh of the Congress Tuesday campaigned in Rohru again.

"For the next three days, I will campaign extensively in the constituency. The voters are fed up with the false promises of their former legislator (Virbhadra Singh). Moreover, this time infighting within the Congress over the allotment of tickets will benefit the BJP," Dhumal said.

Almost half a dozen ministers of the state government are campaigning in Rohru.

Congress star campaigner Virbhadra Singh, who campaigned aggressively for three days in Jawali, returned to Rohru and said: "We are exposing the misdeeds of the BJP government. The government has blatantly allotted land to private parties in the name of opening universities. The party is united and campaigning aggressively to win both seats."

In Jawali, Congress legislative party leader Vidya Stokes started the second round of campaigning along with senior party leaders Tuesday.

Stokes said former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh would address a series of rallies in Jawali Nov 5, the last day of campaigning.

Rohru and Jawali were vacated by former Congress chief minister Virbhadra Singh and BJP's Rajan Sushant, respectively, upon their entry into the Lok Sabha in the May general elections.

The by-polls are scheduled Nov 7.

--IANS