As part of its election campaign in the two seats that the CPI(M) is contesting in Himachal Pradesh, the state unit will be releasing a charter addressing state level issues while working with the central slogan of "Reject Congress, Defeat BJP".
The State Committee which held a meeting on March 13 has stated that the overall withdrawal of the state and its impact on the people will be the foremost issue in their campaign. Both the BJP and the Congress have embraced this as a developmental model in the state, which is neo-liberal to the core. Such models force the state to adopt them along with the coercive strategies adopted by the Centre. This happens in education, health and various other sectors too. Rampant privatization in higher education as witnessed in the opening of private universities in the state is a case in point. Both the erstwhile BJP and the current Congress government are following the same path.
The other major focus of the campaign would be to expose the BJP and the Congress in their failure to protect the interests of the state, especially in matters of land deals and benami transactions.
CPI(M) has decided to field Comrades Jagat Ram in Shimla and Kushal Bharadwaj from Mandi Lok Sabha constituencies.
Image Courtesy: himachallive.blogspot.com