Reckong Peo (Kinnaur), November 2
With the tribal areas going to the polls ahead of the rest of the state, stakes have become really high for the Congress and the BJP, the two main contenders for power in the state. The two parties are making all-out efforts to win the Kinnaur seat as, unlike in the past, it could matter in the formation of the government.

In the last two Assembly elections the outcome of the elections was a forgone conclusion as polling took place in June, almost four months after the formation of the government. The party, which came to power on the basis of results of 65 seats, literally walked away with the seat. The only difference was that the Congress scored a huge victory in 2003 whereas the BJP won with a much smaller margin in 1998. It was not surprising as the tribal areas have traditionally been a stronghold of the Congress. The BJP could secure only 29 of the 65 seats in 1998 as against 31 seats won by the Congress but still it managed to form the government with the help of HVC, which got four seats. It could have been a different story had the election been held early in the three tribal segments.

Anyway, this time the battle is being fought on even terms and no party has the undue advantage of having already come to power. The outcome of the Kinnaur seat, along with the other two tribal seats of Bharmour and Lahaul-Spiti, will indeed count in the formation of the government. These could even prove crucial in deciding the outcome of poll in the case of a close finish.

The election has coincided with the festival season. The surfeit of buntings, flags and posters put up by various political parties have added to the festive atmosphere created by the ongoing tribal fair. The candidates are focusing on remote villages that are not accessible by road in the first phase of campaigning.

The main fight is between Jagat Singh Negi (Congress ) and Tejwant Singh (BJP) though Susheel Shana of the BSP and Bhagat Singh Kinner of the Lok Janshakti Party are also in the fray. The BJP, which has in recent years made inroads into the region, is making a determined bid to wrest the seat by exploiting the anti-incumbency factor against the Congress which has completed almost five years in office. The panchayat poll provided enough evidence of the anti-establishment sentiments among the tribal people which helped the BJP to capture the Zila Parishad. It also controls two of the three block samities. Tejwant is quite confident of winning the seat. There has been no change in the mood of the electorate since the panchayat poll and the anti-Congress feeling has only gained further ground, he asserts.

Jagat Singh Negi is seeking votes in the name of development, particularly the network of roads laid out in the difficult mountainous terrain, opening of new health and education institutions and grant of old-age pension and other social welfare measures. He is sure that the charisma of Virbhadra Singh will see him through to the winning post.

The presence of BSP candidate Susheel Shana, who hails from the Buddhist dominated Pooh, will hurt the Congress more as the area happens to be its stronghold. More so, because Susheel has a Congress background. His active involvement in the agitation against the Khab hydroelectric project has won him quite a few supporters in the area. He has been in the political arena for a while and remained pradhan of the Pooh panchayat. His wife became the pradhan in the last panchayat poll when the post was reserved for women. However, PCC chief Viplove insists that the division of anti-government vote will help the Congress.

Lok Janshakti Party candidate Bhagat Singh Kinner will cut into BJP votes. He was one of the founder members of the BJP and twice remained president of the district unit.