As the tribal belt in Himachal gears up for polls ahead of other constituencies, the icy winds sweeping across and dark clouds hovering above could symbolise ominous tidings for the ruling Congress and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. In fact, as campaigning reaches a crescendo for the November 14 polls, Singh is fighting a twin battle—early elections and an inclement weather.Advance polling parties are already on the move to track some of the remotest polling stations like Chiraj, 22 km on foot from the district headquarters. Singh, who reached Pooh on Sunday morning after travelling through the barren Spiti valley for two days, could not fly in his helicopter. He took the road to Reckong Peo. With just a day left to wind up the campaigning, Singh will spend all his time in the constituency.Of the three seats, Kinnaur has always been the most prestigious. For, the present Chief Minister’s forefathers ruled it as part of Rampur-Busheshr. The Congress here has a strong candidate in sitting MLA Jagat Singh Negi but BSP has queered the pitch by fielding rebel Congressman Sushil Sana.For the BJP, things are looking up. Though the denial of ticket to former MLA Chet Ram Negi is likely to damage the party in Kilwa belt of Lower Kinnaur, its candidate Tejwant Negi has managed to make inroads into the former’s pockets like Kalpa, Poari and valleys across Satluj. The BJP is also exploiting the Wangtoo police firing to the hilt, calling it a “strike on Kinnauris’ pride”.The larger issue in the region is development. Lahaul-Spiti and Bharmaur aspire to catch up with Kinnaur. The Chief Minister had promised to allot wastelands to tribals but the announcement of early elections put it on hold, robbing him of a potent election plank. The saffron party, on the other hand, is encashing the “lapse”.
