Overshadowed by the excessive focus on Gujarat elections, the low key poll campaign in Himachal Pradesh came to an end on Monday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh putting in a token presence in Shimla where he praised the development record of the incumbent Congress government while attacking the BJP for raising caste and religious issues.
On the last day of electioneering, Singh told a rally that the economic progress of the state was jeopardised every time the BJP came in power. Asking people not to get ??fooled by empty promises??, he said the BJP always based its campaign on religious, caste and regional issues.
BJP leader LK Advani and Rajnath Singh also camped in the hill state and addressed election rallies where they said their party would provide a Gujarat-type corruption-free government if it was voted to power.
In an attempt to reach out to the voters and get them to support their party in the elections, the BJP leaders claimed if their party voted to power, a fresh wave of development would usher in to make lives of people better and easy.
Polling in 65 assembly seats of the 68-members House will be held on December 19, which will decide the fate of 335 candidates, including CM Virbhadra Singh and BJP?s chief ministerial candidate PK Dhumal.
Moreover, continuing with his development mantra to score some brownie points for the party in the state Singh said, ??Ever since Himachal was formed in 1966, the Congress has worked sincerely for the growth of the state and as a result the state stands tall today among the states in the Hindi belt.??
“Due to hard work of Congress government in the state and the assistance of the UPA government at the Centre, the state had achieved a growth rate of over 9.5% last year, the PM said and asked the people to return Congress to power in the state for continuity of progress.
