"Will Leave No Stone Unturned," Says Himachal Chief Minister Before Polls

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said he is confident about retaining power in the state that goes to the polls on November 12. Speaking exclusively to NDTV today, the BJP leader claimed his party will put up a united fight and "leave no stone unturned", even as there are reports of more than 20 rebel candidates filing their nominations as independents.

Pinning his hopes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP's star campaigner, Mr Thakur said: "Our face is Prime Minister Modi ji. No rebel will have any effect before him. We have already persuaded some of the rebels, while talks are on with the rest. We have given tickets only to those whose names came up in the party's survey."

On being reminded that anti-incumbency has seen the electorate in Himachal Pradesh vote in a new government almost every five years, the Chief Minister said such a 'custom' will no longer hold true in his state, as the BJP has already bucked the trend and won consecutive elections in Uttarakhand and UP in the recent past.

Mr Thakur, a five-time MLA who has won elections continuously since 1998, cited 'double engine' government, with the centre and state ruled by the same party, as the reason why voters in Himachal will repose faith in the BJP.

"Under the leadership of Modi ji, we will change the 'custom' in Himachal Pradesh, too, because people know the importance of 'double engine' government," he explained.

Reacting to a query on whether former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal was upset over the fact that the BJP had denied him a ticket this time, Mr Thakur claimed: "Prem Kumar Dhumal ji is not angry. He himself had written to the party leadership, saying that he didn't want to contest these elections."

Terming the Congress party's promise of creating one lakh jobs in the state as nothing but a "jumla" (empty promise), Mr Thakur said: "In states where the Congress is in power, did it give one lakh jobs? The outgoing Congress government in Himachal in 2017 had left us with huge debts. Congress will be wiped out from the entire country."

Ruling out the possibility of any sympathy factor in the forthcoming assembly elections over former Chief Minister and Congress leader Virbhadra Singh, who died last year, Mr Thakur said: "The sympathy ended with the Mandi bypoll. People had voted in the Mandi byelection on the basis of sentiments, but there is no 'king' now, the public is the 'king'.