It has been 20 long years since the Left parties had anyone standing for their cause in the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha. Rakesh Singha was the last leader who represented the Left parties in the assembly. However, with CPM winning the Shimla Municipal Corporation (MC) polls impressively, we can hope a change of fortune for the Left this time around. The electoral alliance representing the Left includes CPM, Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) and Himachal Lok Morcha (HLM),
Accordingly, to ensure a better performance, the CPM has 16 candidates contending against some real big guns from the Congress and the BJP. With strong image and huge mass following, Tikender Panwar (Shimla), Rakesh Singha (Theog) and Kuldeep Tanwar (Kasumpti) may topple the existing tallies in the present Vidhan Sabha election. Their candidature was strongly approved and supported by senior CPM leaders, including Brinda Karat and Sitaram Yechury.
While the CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat is confident about CPM emerging as a redoubtable force and providing a political alternative in the hill state, Sitaram Yechury appeals people to support the third front so that it could provide Himachalis with a viable alternative to BJP and Congress. Yechury emphasizes on the fact that both the BJP and Congress are involved in “massive corruption” and hence, people should opt the third front and go for the trend initiated in Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) election.
Former MLA Singha is going strong from Theog and will sure force people to think about the present political scenario and make the right decision. Similarly, Tanwar, a retired IFS officer, looks keen to make the contest fiercer than it was ever before. Finally, we have Tikender Panwar from Shimla who has just recently shown his mettle. So, we are heading toward a contest which will see the best winning for sure.
