"Kangana's candidature blessing for Congress": Himachal Minister Rohit Thakur

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 11 : Cabinet Minister Rohit Thakur held a meeting on Saturday in Shimla and declared that the Congress party will win all 10 seats, including six Assembly by-elections and four parliamentary seats, as the party prepares for polls in Himachal Pradesh.
He said that from the initial campaign, the response was in favour of the Congress party, as the sitting BJP MPs failed to fulfil the promises made to the people.
He also said that in Mandi Parliamentary segments, Kangana Ranaut's candidature from the BJP is helping the Congress. He said that she has turned out to be a blessing for the Congress party, as she doesn't have any issues despite making personal attacks on the leaders.
"You can understand from the frustration of Jai Ram Thakur ji that how big a challenge she (Kangana) is for us. She is a blessing to us. I believe that we shall not comment below the belt on a personal level; issues of public and development should be the agenda. They should look at their performance" ,said Rohit Thakur.
"The elections for Himachal Pradesh are scheduled for the last phase, keeping in mind that we have finalised tickets for all parliamentary and assembly elections. So far, we have completed three nominations for Mandi, Kangra, and Hamirpur Assembly segments. On the 13th, we shall file nominations for the Shimla parliamentary constituency. By the 14th, we shall file all nominations for assembly by-elections as well. We are getting very good responses," he added.
Hitting out the Centre, the Congress leader said, "The Union government failed in all sectors during the past ten years. The BJP had promised jobs but nothing has been given so far. There is a difference between their promises and deeds . If you take examples of horticulture production areas in Shimla parliamentary constituency, PM Modi has promised during the elections of 2014 and 2019 to increase import duty on apple fruit by three times, but nothing has been fulfilled so far."
"If you see the tribal status of the Hati community that is also pending, they promised to process plants for fruits in Solan; they also shifted Mushroom Institute, and not even a single institution was opened in the state. The distribution of MP LAD funds was also unequally distributed; out of 920 panchayats, nearly half of such village panchayats did not get even a single amount of money," he added.
Expressing confidence in winning the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, "Our sitting BJP MP failed to raise the issue in Parliament. Out of 17 Assembly segments, we won 13 areas in Shimla Parliamentary Constituency, and we are going to win this seat. And during nomination filing, the response was very good for Vilramaditya in Mandi and for Anand Sharma in Kangra, also at Hamirpur and now for Shimla Parliament. We shall also try to get a good gathering for nomination. We will win all 10 seats, including 6 Assembly by-elections and four parliamentary constituencies," Thakur added.
Speaking on the statement of Union Minister Anurag Thakur on comparing the Congress party with Pakistan, Thakur said that it is unfortunate that these kinds of statements are being made by the BJP leaders, as they don't have any election issues and they have failed to work for the nation during the past ten years.
"It is unfortunate that Anurag Thakur has given this statement comparing Congress with Pakistan, as he should remember that it was Congress and Indira Gandhi that separated Pakistan. The BJP failed to fulfill the promises, if you see the unemployment index of the country that has reached its highest level ever. They failed to fill the jobs in central employment; the inflation has reached its height, which included the increasing LPG prices, petrol and diesel, and, fertilizers also increased highest ever," he said.
"The dollar in comparison to rupees has crossed 85 and they used to compare it with the age of Manmohan Singh ji. Now will they compare it with the age of Advani ji ? They have already thrown him out. Among those leaders on whom they have alleged corruption charges, the majority of them have joined the BJP. The INDIA Alliance is going to form a government in these elections, and the BJP is going to face the anger of the people on their promises," Thakur added.
Himachal Pradesh has four Lok Sabha seats: Hamirpur, Mandi, Shimla, and Kangra. The BJP won all four seats in 2019. The elections to the four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh and by-polls to the six assembly constituencies that fell vacant with the disqualification of six rebel Congress MLAs will be held on June 1.