Himachal Diary: AAP for political rehabilitation?

The meteoric rise of AAP in Punjab has ignited hopes of many prominent Himachalis, who were hitherto not interested in entering active politics. Some of them are eying party tickets while many others belonging to major national parties, like BJP and Congress, who are not very hopeful of getting party tickets, are looking towards AAP political rehabilitation. “It is too early to say how the AAP would perform in the election to emerge as a third alternative but it has definitely become a third window for many leaders, keen to contest Assembly polls,” said a veteran politician.

Scare among Cong leaders

AAP’s rise in Punjab and its increasing activities in Himachal have caused scare among the Congress leaders of border districts of the state. Though the Congress leaders are putting up a brave face that AAP’s victory would not have any impact in Himachal, many leaders have dug their heels in constituencies after the party’s defeat in Punjab. “After my duty in Punjab, rather than going home, I have directly landed in my constituency,” quipped a leader.

Rathore losing patience

Congress state president Kuldeep Rathore seems to have lost patience answering questions regarding change of leadership being raised every now and then. One such instance was a press conference he addressed two days back. He went to the extent of stating that talk of change of leadership is a conspiracy against him as he has completed three years but questions are still being raised about change. “There is no question of change of leadership as the high command will not repeat the Punjab mistake here,” he said emphatically while patting his own back for the win in the four bypoll.

Rally causes public inconvenience

Instances of public being inconvenienced by political congregations pour in every now and then. In the latest case, a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha roadshow at Solan led to closure of a key road for a few hours. Hapless residents, some of whom had to visit the hospital, had to trudge for kilometres, leaving them wondering why they had to suffer. With Assembly elections slated for later this year, politicians are trying to woo the electorate through such gimmicks, never mind if the common man ended up suffering, commented a resident.