OPS behind BJP's defeat in Himachal Pradesh, says Ramesh Dhawala

Ravinder Sood

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Palampur, December 12

Senior BJP leader Ramesh Dhawala today said that the commitment made by the Congress in its manifesto regarding restoration of the old pension scheme (OPS) for government employees was one of the factors for the defeat of most of the party candidates in the Assembly elections.

He said that the OPS promise proved to be a game changer, as despite the fact that the BJP government under the leadership of Jai Ram Thakur had done a lot for the people of the state in five years, the party could not retain power.

Dhawala convened a meeting of party workers at Jwalamukhi today to brainstorm on reasons for his defeat in the Dehra constituency. The BJP had shifted Dhawala from Jwalamukhi to the Dehra seat.

He said that had the BJP also made a commitment to government employees in its manifesto regarding the restoration of the OPS, the election results would have been different. Most of the BJP candidates lost the elections by a narrow margin.

Dhawala claimed that on an average the Congress candidates got 3,000 to 4,000 votes due to the OPS promise. He said in HP, there were serving and retired employees in every house and they openly supported the Congress. “It is doubtful that the Congress will be able to implement the OPS because of the poor financial health of the state,” he added.

He said the delay in the allotment of ticket to him from Dehra Gopipur instead of Jwalamukhi was also one of the factors responsible for his defeat, as he got only 20 days for canvassing. Besides, he also faced opposition from BJP workers, who supported an Independent candidate. He said he was a loyal BJP worker and would continue to serve people.