SHIMLA: The voters of Himachal Pradesh take ‘Sankalp Patra’ or ‘Pratigya Patra’ or any election manifesto with a pinch of salt saying that the Parties make promises to get votes to assume power and then dump most of the promise into the dustbins.
As election politics has reached a feverish pitch in Himachal Pradesh, powerful lobbies of Sarkari employees have made old pension scheme (OPS) as a major poll issue.
Both ruling BJP and opposition Congress have tried to address this issue in their own way. But its impact in poll arena is clear.
Firstly, BJP is drumbeating its main poll plank on the “performance of Double Engine government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state BJP government of Jai Ram Thakur to change the "Rivaaj”.
Rivaaj is that voters of Himachal vote out the party in power after every five year. 
BJP has backed up this poll plank by its 11-Sankalp Patra of Hindutva brand of politics. It includes implementation uniform civil code and promotion of Teerth circuit, probing the wakf properties in the state.
Sankalp Patra was released today in Shimla by the party in presence of BJP Chief Jagat Prakash Nadda, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Prof Sikender Kumar, chairman of the Sankalp Patra and other leaders.
On the other hand, Congress has made OPS as its top guarantee among nine others in its Pratigya Patra, which was released on Saturday here.
Congress had released its Khoshna Patra in the presence of state president Pratibha Singh, Rajiv Shukla, party affairs incharge, Bhupesh Baghel, CM Chhattisgarh and Election Incharge, leader of the opposition Mukesh Agnihotri, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and chairman of the manifesto committee Dr Col Dhani Ram Shandil, Alka Lamba and other leaders.
These Khoshna Patras have once again brough a spotlight on the Past Patras released by the Parties in the last elections.
However, the critical issues that lakhs of majority of marginal and poor farmers, and lakhs of unemployed youth, workers and small traders face, have been pushed to the sidelines as they don’t have active lobbies in the corridors of power.
Their issues have been lingering over the years. The past promises made by Parties in their Patra( Manifestos) have been buried behind the smoke screen of employees’ overt politics on TV Shows and on social media.
But the silent majority remains a potent force that also vote decisively, exercising their choice over “candidate or party. They can judge, who “best” do what they “say” and “protect their interest”.
They have come out with a chilling reminder of their past promises that both BJP and Congress had made in their past Patras.
But the silent majority of voters- most of them farmers and lakhs of unemployed youth in rural Himachal, which has over 90 per cent of its population- have kept the parties on the hooks.
They have also come out behind the scene, showing mirror to the politicians and the Parties who are seeking re-election to the 13th Vidhan sabha.
They also demand "respectable life security pension" and allowances as they are Anndatta, feed local population, face natural disasters, crop failures and other life-threatening exigencies like Corona Pandemic.
Even as sarkari employees face no layoffs, no salary cuts and get hefty salary and have assured source of income, but the farmers and those working in private sector have no assured sources of income and no pension to support their families.
As BJP has been in power for the last five years, BJP's past Patra has come under fire from the farmers.
BJP had talked about “doubling farmers income by 2022”. “But today this ‘Sankalp’ has been dumped in the background”, rued the farmers.
Lakhs of families of farmers, most of them marginal, still struggle for getting a “profitable price for their produce, cheap pesticides, fertilisers and packing material”.
Their anger is real. The prices of these inputs including seeds and fruit plants, have gone through the roof over the years.
BJP government has tried to address their anger, asking them to adopt natural farming to cut inputs costs. But its results so far remain non-tangible for the farmers, mainly for the apple and vegetable farmers and the anger persists.
The inputs costs instead have doubled the cost of production, mainly of apple, vegetable crops and milk for the last 10 years. Both apple and vegetables spin Rs 5000 Crore economy each in the state every year.
“If these crops are good and profitable, it means good business to the lakhs of small traders, shopkeepers and agricultural labourers as well in this hill state”, said an economist.
To put their point across, apple farmers had to stage protest in front of Himachal Secretariate last harvesting season during their agitation from July to September 2022.
Among other things, the farmers demand Rs 60 per kg for grade A, Rs 46 for Grade B and Rs 24 for Grade C fruit.
Recently, Syunkt Kisan Manch of 30 farmers’ bodies also reminded BJP, Congress and other parties about its 20-point charter of demands still pending with the outgoing Jai Ram Thakur’s government.
But neither BJP and nor Congress have come out in support of their demands in their ‘Sankalp or Pratigya Patra’ clarifying whether they will implement it or not.
Their anger has doubled as Crop insurance cover remains sloppy. It benefits more the insurance companies rather than the farmers.
Rubbing salt to the wounds of the farmers was that over 30 percent of Grade A Apple crop dropped in orchards in September due to heavy rains. They did not get penny for this loss as term of crop insurance expired in July-August, rued the farmers.
Congress, however, says that it will ensure that the prices of the fruit will be decided by the farmers.
These are major issues in the Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Kullu, Mandi, Kinnaur, the main fruit growing areas.
Similarly, the plight of maize farmers of Mandi, tomato farmers of Solan and Balh, ginger farmers of Sirmaur and Gaubhi farmers of Shimla, off-season vegetable farmers of Lahaul-Spiti, kinnow and gulgal farmers of Kangra is no better.
Reason: The prices of the crop crash during the peak harvesting season and farmers suffer huge losses as the government has no mechanism to check the traders.
The farmers not only face prices crash and crop failures, they also are losing their prime assets- the land- forever.
Their shrinking cultivable land is being acquired for power projects, four-lane and other national highways, transmission lines, and other projects, parks and economic zones.
They have been demanding factor 2 compensation, but BJP has broken its promise the party had made in 2017 manifesto.
The farmers have made picture of BJP leaders including Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Gobind Thakur, who were then in opposition, viral on social media to expose their "double-speak".
BJP leaders had joined hands with the Four-lane Sangarsh Samiti, Mandi and Kullu in 2012-17 under the Kargil war hero, Brig Kushal Singh Thakur, who had spearheaded the agitation, demanding factor 2 compensation for the farmers.
BJP in fact had included land compensation issue in its 2017 election manifesto. BJP won nine out of 10 seats in Mandi in 2017.
Today as farmers are backed by the Lal Jhanda union, BJP dubbed the protestors as 'AndolanJeevi' and care no two hoots to what the party had committed in 2017.
BJP formed its government in 2017 and made Brig Kushal Thakur its Mandi Lok Sabha candidate. But he lost the by-election to Congress Pratibha Singh.
This debecale together with defeat in three assembly byelections-Jubbal-Kotkhai, Arki and Fatehpur in 2021 had sent shockwaves to the Jai Ram Thakur government.
The party had dumped its promise of factor 2 compensation into the dustbin, said the members of the Sangarsh samiti. It cost the BJP badly, they claimed.
Not only this, thousands bighas of farmers’ land is being acquired for construction of roads under PMGSY as well, but not even a rupee compensation is paid to the farmers, who lose their land forever.
Interestingly, this time, both BJP and Congress, main contenders for power in the state, have remained silent in their “Patra” on factor 2 compensation for the land acquired for the projects.
Congress also face the same charge. The party talked about ‘Pratigya' of giving Unemployment allowance to unemployed army of youth, whose number today has exceeded 15 lakh figure.
But the unemployed youth did not get it in 2012-2017, when Congress ruled the state, charged BJP leaders.
If the farmers express their grievances, lakhs of people working in the non-government private sector tell the same story of woes.
Take the case over three lakh people working outside Himachal Pradesh during Corona period. They worked mostly in ‘non-secure private jobs they had taken up to feed their families back home in the state”.
They had come back during Corona period and lost their jobs or salaries.
Also, the fate of thousands of victims of job layoffs, salary cuts by private sector, ranging from mass media, tourism and hotel industry still hangs in balance.
They worked in private hotels or resorts or restaurants as cooks, agents or waiters, managers or taxi drivers or so in the state. But nobody talk about them as they are an unorganized lot and hail from poor social backgrounds.
They have no social security in life, no pension, no allowance, nothing sustainable to feed their families.
They are educated unemployed, skilled or semi-skilled workers and mostly come from family of marginal farmers, whose land holdings are small, unirrigated, where they are finding it difficult to eke out a living for themselves.
But no parties have addressed their issues.
Inputs from hotel industry reveal that only one-third of them actually were re-absorbed after recovery in the tourism sector in the post-Corona period in the last one year.
A majority of them live in penury working in their small land holdings to make their both ends meet.
BJP released its 11- point ‘Sankalp Patra’ on Sunday here to counter Congress’ 10- Guarantee ‘Pratigya Patra’ released on Saturday in this state capital.
Earlier CPIM had also released its manifesto promising Rs 25000 as minimum wages for the working class and Old pension scheme for employees and regular jobs in the government sector and compensation for the farmers.
The contest has turned into a BJP Vs Congress in most of 68 constituencies, with rebels queering the pitch for them.
Other parties- AAP, BSP and CPIM- remain as lackluster campaigners as far as the present election scenario in Himachal Pradesh is concerned.
BJP has targeted "women vote bank", promising 33 reservation in jobs.
But the “men vote bank”, mostly unemployed educated youth remain a neglected lot, though both parties claim they would create lakhs of jobs for them in the next five years once they come to power.
BJP has announced freebies Kisan samaan nidhi for the farmers, though it is not going to address their real problems in their farms.
The BJP government will create 8 lakh employment opportunities for the youth of Himachal Pradesh in a phased manner in government jobs and economic zones.
The BJP government will launch Teerth circuit investing ₹12000 Cr in the next 10 years in transport and physical infrastructure.
Farmers demand freezing of five percent GST on apple packing material, but BJP says it would be 12%.
The BJP government will set up a startup scheme with a corpus of Rs 900 crore and Congress says it would startup fund of Rs 650 crore providing interest-free loans to the entrepreneurs.
BJP will remove anomalies in the salaries of government employees while Congress says it would implement OPS in the very first meeting of its Cabinet if Congress government is formed.
National president Jagat Prakash Nadda said the BJP clearly believe that unless there is maternal empowerment, the family and the coming generations cannot be empowered.
Narendra Modi government has done many things for the empowerment of mothers.
On the other hand, Chairman of Congress Manifesto committee Dr Dhani Ram Shandil the Congress Pratigya Patra will empower women as Congress would give an Samaan Nidhi of Rs 1600 to every women in the age-group of 18-60 years.
PCC president Pratibha Singh and Chairman of campaign committee, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu the Congress say Congress government would restore OPS, fill up all vacant posts in the government and provide employment to six lakhs people.
While silent majority has made up its mind, but it is also true that people in each constituency have their specific local issues- like roads, water, school staff, doctors, including choice of candidates that parties have fielded.
How do the voters take Parties Patra? All in all, Himachal’s over 56 lakh voters are silent on this, keeping parties and their candidate on the tenterhooks.
It is another thing, parties mainly BJP and Congress have launched campaigns in the fields and on social, print TV media, roping in national leaders to generate favourable wave.
