SHIMLA/DHARAMSHALA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his ‘Vikas Ka Double Engine’ mantra to woo the voters at the last two Vijay Sankalp rallies he addressed  at Chambi  in Kangra district and Sujanpur in Hamirpur district on Wednesday.

Rounding up his statewide ‘anti-Congress election campaign’, Modi sought votes on the performance of the “double engine government” to change the 'Rivaj' in Himachal Pradesh.

It was Modi's last-ditch effort to drum up support for BJP candidates in Kangra and Hamirpur, the epicenter of game of power   in Himachal Pradesh, which is  going to polls on November 12. 

Modi tried to look for aces in Kangra, a land of Dham, where people are divided along sharp  caste lines- Girth, OBCs, Rajputs, Gaddis, Brahmins and Dalits.

The silent voters of Kangra  are giving a real taste of Dham to the candidates of all rival parties,  mainly from the BJP in  Fatehpur, Dehra, Dharamshala, Jawalamukhi, Kangra, Sulah, Jaswan Pragpur, Palampur.  

Modi was trying to woo voters in Kangra and Hamirpur, where voters did not spare even its most popular leaders -Shanta Kumar and Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, who faced defeat in elections in Sulah and Sujanpur.   

"It is all unpredictable here. People in Kangra relish multi-cuisine Sab-Ras Dhaam and search   for 'Khatta' even in non-Veg meals", comment a civil society  activist from Kangra.   

Prime Minister's series of Vijay Sankalp rallies were significant for many reasons. He tried to stretch his political wisdom and tact to his  best capacity and started his speech in local dialect.

In a multipronged speeches at Chambi and Sujanpur, Narendra Modi tried to woo the women voters, soldiers and youth,

Prime Minister also tried to  placate his "Unhappy BJP Veterans and BJP rebels" by making reference to  BJP veterans and his memories associated with local people and places. He emotionally  remembered Praveen Sharma, who died few months ago.  

Modi drumbeat his ‘Vikas ka Double Engine’ mantra in all the four rallies, completing his anti-Congress chorus before the voters.

Prime Minister did not touch the Old Pension scheme promise made by  Congress. He attacked Congress 10-point Pratigya Patr (manifesto), saying that all of its guarantees made in the past, were also never fulfilled".    

He touched all the four Lak Sabha seats of Kangra, Hamirpur, Shimla and Mandi to counter Congress’ Parivartan Pratigya rallies. He said Congress has made an exit in many states for long,  where the party has been rejected by people. 

Addressing the public meeting in Chambi in Shahpur, Narendra Modi sharply focused his speech on ‘women and Betis”  and appealed to the voters to do the same thing in Himachal as well.

"They are ‘Stree Shakti’. BJP’s  11-point Sankalp Patr commits, among other things, 33 per cent reservation for Betis in Sarkari jobs", Modi said. 

In a single breath, Prime Minister counted scores of schemes that the double engine government have launched for women in the state and country.

These schemes enable women and Betis to join armed forces and police. They are getting nutrition, scholarships, shagun, free gas cylinders that cover all strands of women in the state, he said.   

Modi also targeted his speech on women issues to catch their fancy. He did so as the polling turnout of women voters in many elections was higher than that of men in Kangra and Hamirpur.

He also targeted his speech to counter the impact of Congress women leaders- AICC leader Priyanka Gandhi and PCC President Pratibha Singh are having on women of the state, who are in the thick of battle.

Priyanka Gandhi has been taking on the BJP’s stalwarts while addressing Congress’ Parivartan Pratigya rallies in Una, Nagrota Bagwan, Mandi and Solan in support of Congress candidates.  

Prime Minister further said only BJP’s double engine government can provide stability and good governance to the people of Himachal Pradesh.

Modi said that the presence of large number of people in Sujjanpur is an indication that the BJP government has spread the development in Himachal Pradesh and is a proof of the politics of development.

Modi attacked Congress saying that Congress as a laid back party which believes in halting the projects which come from the centre.

The Double Engine government restored Himachal’s share in Centrally sponsored projects back to 10 per cent token share, while Centre would provide 90 per cent of funds, he said.

Prime Minister reiterated that the Congress government halted the development of Himachal Pradesh during its rule from 2014-17.

Taking a dig at the ‘puzzling absence’ of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi from the campaign, Modi said Congress leaders from Delhi never bothered about people of Himachal even during Corona period.

Modi charged that ‘Congress means corruption’,  Congress means delaying projects, halting progress- Late Latifi, Latkana, Phasana, Bigadna”.  

Narendra Modi, using his political wisdom, made a reference of Kangra BJP veteran Shanta Kumar in Chambi Vijay Sankalp rally that falls in Kangra district. Kangra has 15 seats, the largest number and decides a road for the party to power in Shimla.   

Modi also made a mention of Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, who was Chief Minister twice, in Sujanpur that comes under Hamirpur Lok Sabha- a seat hold by Union Minister, Anurag Singh Thakur, who is son of Prof Dhumal.  

There are feelers that Prime Minister made their mention to “undo the damage and placate their supporters and BJP rebels  in fray in Kangra, Hamirpur, Mandi, Chamba, Bilaspur, Kullu and other places”.

Both BJP veterans are “unhappy” for different reasons. "It is for the first time that BJP has gone into the contest without their wider active presence”. New Jodi of BJP Chief, Jagat Prakash Nadda and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur have taken over the command in Himachal Pradesh.

Shanta Kumar has campaigned in Sulah and Palampur, while Dhumal has remained confined to Sujanpur and Hamirpur.  

While Prof. Dhumal, who was a key player in running the first two BJP governments in the state, is ‘unhappy’ for lack of what he has told a TV channel, “Vyahar (behaviour and Prem(affection) with Karyakartas on the part of the party”.

Now it is ‘Jag-Jaahir’ that most of the BJP rebels in the contest are from the erstwhile "Dhumal camp" that can dent the votes of BJP official candidates.   "One can win over the Rusht Karyakarta by showing proper Vyahar and Prem", Dhumal had said. 

On the other hand, Shanta Kumar was not only ‘unhappy”, but also angry over a BJP minister from Una, who had sought blessing of the “rapist baba, Ram Rahim, who is on parole” for the sake of getting votes”.

It is feared that Shanta Kumar’s comment on this episode has gone viral on social media and is bound to affect the choices of voters in the region.   

Modi also referred to projects of the double engine government. He launched AIIMS, Bilaspur and Bande Bharat train from Una, laid foundation stone of Bulk Drug Park in Haroli, Medical Device Park in Nalagarh.

Modi’s last two aggressive Vijay Sankalp rallies today came hot on the heels of the two earlier election rallies that Prime Minister had addressed in Sundernagar in Mandi and Solan.

Earlier, Modi had also addressed four rallies in Bilaspur, Una, Chamba and Mandi before the election dates were announced.

How much impact these rallies will have on Himachal’s 56 lakh voters will be judged on December 8 when the Election Commission of India would count votes and declare results on the same day.