Himachal Diary: BJP pins hope on Harsh Mahajan's skills
Even as leaders are keeping their fingers crossed ahead of the counting on December 8, the BJP is pinning its hope on former Congress leader Harsh Mahajan, who had joined the saffron party, being able to woo Congress MLAs if it is a hung Assembly. Known for his political manoeuvering, Mahajan remained a strategist for former CM Virbhadra Singh for several years. Now it remains to be seen if the electorate has left scope for such manipulations which will go against the public mandate or horse trading will result in formation of the next government.
Babus chilling out
While politicians are spending sleepless nights as they are anxiously await the results, it is the bureaucracy which is most relaxed. With no political bosses, the ‘babus’ are chilling out these days. While some are on leave, others are discussing poll outcome over cups of coffee.
Overenthusiasm
During the BJP meet before election results at Dharamsala on Sunday, a few candidates displayed overenthusiasm. “We have never witnessed such elections,” some of them were heard saying. However, it was hard to fathom if they were happy at their winning prospects or hoping for the defeat of their rivals within party.
Post-poll strategies
With the date of counting coming close, post-poll strategies are being chalked out by the BJP and Congress. While the BJP is convening a second meeting to ponder over the possibilities, Congress senior leaders are either meeting higher-ups in Delhi or re-grouping to showcase their strength. A liberal sharing of pictures with the media is keeping the tempers high as various chief ministerial aspirants are exhibiting their strength though D-Day will decide the fate.
