Arun Chaubey
For the three assembly seats of Kinnaur, Bharmaur and Lahaul & Spiti in the first phase of polling for Himachal Pradesh, the turn out of voters was 62 per cent. With a total number of electorate – 127108, in the three constituencies it is surprising to know that about one third of the polling stations here are located at an altitude between 8,500 and 15,000 feet.
According to election officials, 59 percent voters cast their ballot in Kinnaur, 61 percent in Bharmaur and around 73 percent in the sparsely populated Lahaul & Spiti seat.
Of the 298 polling stations in the three assembly segments, Hikkem in the Spiti Valley - with 318 voters - is the second highest polling station in India. Bharmaur has 55,108 voters, Kinnaur 49,876 and Lahaul & Spiti 22,809. Of the total booths, the EC termed 58 sensitive and 53 hyper-sensitive and made special arrangements to meet any eventuality.
Lahaul & Spiti is the largest assembly segment in terms of area but has the fewest voters in the state. The twin valleys are already cut off from the rest of the state due to heavy snowfall over the high passes leading to the region. The Lahaulis of Lahaul and Spiti region are mainly Buddhists.
The tribal population of the state consist of the Gaddis, Kinnars, Gujjars, Pangawals, Lahaulis and Spitians. The Gaddis are the traditional shepherds who migrate from the alpine pastures to the lower regions during the winters, while the Gujjars are nomads, who rear buffalo herds.
The Kinnars, who are the inhabitants of the Kinnaur region, follow a tradition of polyandry and polygamy.
All the three assembly seats are reserved tribal constituencies, where a dozen candidates are contesting. Observers say the main fight is between arch-rivals, the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the last elections, Congress had won all the three seats, but this time the BJP is trying to get the benefit of anti-incumbency factor.
Besides, development and economic uplift are major issues in the area. The roads and other communication links are repeatedly damaged due to vagaries of nature. Flashfloods and cloudbursts are common and these cripple even the basic infrastructure of the region. Motorable roads have yet not been constructed all across the region owing to high altitude. This is why the tourism industry promotes trekking and cycling expeditions instead.
Another major issue in the area in the Minimum Support Price of apples, the agricultural mainstay of the region. The apples of Kinnaur are world famous and mostly exported. They are also the bread and butter of the district. Himachal Pradesh’s upper regions had once voted out the BJP government under Shanta Kumar when it had drastically cut the MSP. It is for this reason that BJP has already declared that P K Dhumal will be their chief ministerial candidate.
Besides, the surprise entry of the Bhaujan Samaj Party which may not witness a very impressive performance but is likely to make a dent in the vote banks of both the parties.
Therefore, the victory margin would be very narrow for the BJP as well as the Congress.
