Falling market prices of apples, demand for medical college and support to tourism have emerged as major election issues in the Kullu region, which sends four MLAs to the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly.
Growing costs due to high prices of fertilisers, pesticides and lack of government support have made apple cultivation a loss-making deal, say gardeners.
The Kullu region, whose economy is dependent on tourism and horticulture, has four assembly seats namely Manali, Kullu Sadar, Banjar and Ani.
“Apple producers are unhappy here as rates have dropped to 2012 and 2013 levels. Adani Ambani is also manipulating the rates. This issue is going to affect the election in all the four seats of this apple belt,” said Naresh Chaudhary, an apple grower from Manali.
The apple growers here are also not happy with the ruling BJP over the increase in GST on packaging and other input materials.
“The rates of cartons were hiked just before the marketing season of apples, which affected our earnings,” Choudhary said.
Durga Singh, another apple grower from Kullu, said the ruling government had promised to open cold storage facilities in the region, but did not fulfill it. Singh said, “I think falling apple prices and declining income and issues of GST on packaging material will affect the BJP’s prospects in the four seats here.”
The demand for a medical college and upgradation of health facilities in the local hospital have also emerged as major election issues in the region. The economy of the Kullu region is mainly dependent on tourism and horticulture.
Local businessman Sameer Singh said that the local hospital in Kullu serves about 10 constituencies, but there is a shortage of health facilities and specialist doctors.
“People here protested for 45 days this year for better facilities, but the demands were not met as there are three BJP MLAs including a state minister,” Singh said.
The BJP’s promise of better compensation for the land acquired for the Manali-Mandi highway has not been fulfilled, angering the voters here, a local said on the condition of anonymity.
A hotelier said that tourism related facilities have not been developed in the area known for the famous tourist destinations of Manali and Rohtang.
“Hotel businessmen are also troubled by the neglect of the industry by the state government during the Covid period. No financial help was given to the hospitality industry during the pandemic. Certainly, we will not vote for the ruling party,” says Sanjeev Gandhi, state coordinator of the Forum of Hotel and Restaurant Associations in Himachal Pradesh.
Sanjana Gupta, a private teacher in a local school, is angry with the government for not filling up vacancies in government schools.
“I am 42 years old. I was waiting for recruitment on various posts by the government for the last five years. There are many people like me who are waiting for government recruitment,” said Gupta.
While Gupta is unhappy with the ruling state government, she says, “I like (Prime Minister) Modiji. Why can’t we have leaders like him in our state? Nobody is thinking about private employees, while parties are promising pension and allowances to government employees, said Manjul Rana, marketing executive of a private sector company.
The BJP is facing a tough challenge in all the four seats due to dissidents. The party has given ticket to MLA Govind Singh Thakur from Manali seat while Congress has given ticket to Bhuvneshwar Gaur, son of former minister Rajkrishna Gaur.
BJP rebel Mahendra Singh Thakur, who is backed by the four-lane Sangharsh Samiti, a group of locals fighting for better land compensation, is also in the fray as an independent.
BJP is facing a tough fight from disgruntled Ram Singh from Kullu Sadar seat, from where Narottam Singh Thakur has been given ticket.
The saffron party had declared senior BJP leader Maheshwar Singh as its candidate but dropped him on the last day of nomination as his son had decided to contest as an independent from Banjar seat. Congress has fielded sitting MLA Surendra Singh Thakur from Kullu Sadar.
Despite opposition from party leaders, BJP has fielded sitting MLA from Banjar, Surendra Shourie. Besides BJP rebel Hiteshwar Singh, Shourie is also facing a challenge from Congress candidate Khami Ram Sharma, who recently joined the party. Khimi Ram Sharma was a former state president and minister of BJP.
In the fourth seat of Ani, both the Congress and the BJP are facing a challenge from dissidents. The BJP dropped its two-time MLA Kishori Lal and nominated Lokendra Kumar, who had contested the 2017 election, as a CPI candidate for the seat.
Congress has given ticket to Bansilal for the first time, ousting its 2017 candidate Paras Ram. Both Paras Ram and Kishori Lal are contesting as independent candidates, making the contest the center of attraction.
Overall, the Congress has been successful in suppressing the rebellion, cementing its prospects amid the anti-government wave.
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