The Aryavarth Express
Agency(Himachal Pradesh): In a significant development on March 19, 2024, the BJP leadership in Himachal Pradesh, led by Jai Ram Thakur, approached the state’s chief electoral officer to report supposed breaches of the election model code by the incumbent Congress government. Thakur, accompanied by fellow BJP MLAs, implored the electoral officer to investigate their allegations concerning the Congress’s misleading assurances to female constituents.
Thakur criticized the Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, for deceiving women with unfounded pledges, specifically highlighting the absence of budget allocations for a promised monthly payment of Rs 1500 to women aged 18 to 59. Despite this, Sukhu publicly declared the commencement of these payments from April, a move Thakur deems as a clear violation of the electoral code due to its timing just before the code’s enforcement.
Moreover, Thakur rebuked the distribution of application forms for pensions, featuring images of Indira Gandhi and Sukhu, labeling it an outright infringement of election conduct rules. He recounted a similar strategy from the 2022 Assembly elections, where the Congress failed to fulfill its pension promise post-victory, questioning the government’s delay in implementing this pledge and its announcement right before the Lok Sabha elections without budgetary backing.
Thakur also criticized the selective removal of billboards, noting that while those promoting government schemes and the Chief Minister remained, ones featuring Lord Rama were taken down, suggesting a bias in enforcement actions. He contended that the Sukhu administration has lost its majority in the legislative assembly and disclosed that the BJP has finalized candidates for two parliamentary seats, with decisions pending for the rest. Thakur expressed skepticism about the likelihood of incumbent MLAs being fielded again by either party due to the volatile political climate in Himachal Pradesh.
