As the Lok Sabha election campaign in Himachal Pradesh enters its final phase and only four days remain for the major political parties to galvanise support, both Congress and BJP are still awaiting the arrival of several of their star campaigners.
For the Congress, prominent leaders such as Randeep Singh Surjewala, Kumari Selja, Raj Babbar, Deepender Hooda, Captain Praveen Dawar and Rajesh Lilothiya are yet to make an appearance in the state. Alka Lamba and Bhupinder Singh Hooda are scheduled to arrive on Monday, adding to the efforts of the Congress campaign.
Similarly, the BJP is also facing delays in the arrival of its key campaigners. High-profile leaders like Yogi Adityanath, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Smriti Irani, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Hardeep Singh Puri, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Mohan Yadav, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Naib Singh Saini, Bhajan Lal Sharma, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Manohar Lal Khattar, Dushyant Kumar Gautam, Manoj Tiwari and Tejashwi Surya have not yet reached Himachal Pradesh.
The lists of these star campaigners were submitted to the Election Commission, with the BJP’s list being sent by the party’s national general secretary Arun Singh on May 13 and the Congress’ list by their national treasurer Ajay Maken on May 14. Each party submitted a list of 40 leaders, which included both national and state-level figures.
Despite the delays, some top leaders have already campaigned in the state. For the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and national president Jagat Prakash Nadda have been actively addressing public meetings. PM Modi held rallies in Nahan and Mandi on May 24, while Amit Shah spoke in Amb and Dharamshala on May 25. Nadda has covered all four parliamentary constituencies in the state and will visit Kinnaur and Rampur on May 28.
From the Congress, Rahul Gandhi held major public meetings on May 26 in Nahan and Una. The previous day, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a gathering in Rohru and conducted a press conference in Shimla. Priyanka Gandhi is also expected to join the campaign on Monday.
