‘Fight not BJP vs Congress, but BJP vs people… no threat to Congress govt’: Himachal CM Sukhvinder Sukhu

COME JUNE 1, Himachal Pradesh will vote for both its four Lok Sabha seats and the six Assembly constituencies whose Congress MLAs have defected to the BJP. The way the Assembly seats vote could decide the fate of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in the state.

Sukhu managed to avert the crisis earlier when the six MLAs cross-voted to cause Congress candidate Anand Sharma’s defeat in the Rajya Sabha elections in February. In an interview with The Indian Express, he speaks about his party’s chances and the state government’s achievements.

Excerpts:

In the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress drew a blank in Himachal. How different is the situation this time?

We are confident that the Congress will win all the four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal. This time, there is no Modi wave, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s jumlas will not influence the people. Modi ji only visits Himachal Pradesh during elections. Last year, during the biggest disaster in our state’s history, he did not visit even once, nor did the Central government provide any special financial assistance. In contrast, the Congress government allocated a relief package of Rs 4,500 crore from its limited resources and rehabilitated 22,000 disaster-affected families.

The Modi government has also promised to increase the import duty on apples three times but actually reduced it by 50%, leading to increased imports of foreign apples and significant losses for local apple orchardists. The people of Himachal are frustrated with the Central government’s neglect. The Congress has fielded strong candidates in all the four seats, who are receiving overwhelming support from the public.

The bypolls to six Assembly seats will have a bearing on your