Major Mankotia to be star campaigner along with Ms. Mayawati.
Bahujan Samaj Party will contest all the sixty-eight Vidhan sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh and will not have any electoral understanding with any party. The party has the capacity to contest and win the elections on its own, according to Dhani Ram Shukla, the General Secretary (Organization) of the state unit of party.
Talking to this correspondent after returning from Lucknow where he had gone along with other leaders of the party to take part in a function, Shukla said that Ms. Mayawati, the party Supremo and Satish Chander Mishra, the number two in the organization would campaign in the state. From state side, Major Vijay Singh Mankotia would be the star campaigner. The party has already announced the candidature of Major Mankotia as the next chief minister of state in event of the coming to power.
Shukla expressed optimism that the party would have its say in the formation of the government in the state as it would win sizable number of seats in the election with blessings of the people of state.
The BSP leader said that people from upper castes were highly upset with the Congress and BJP both and were joining the BSP at all places of the state.
Replying to a question, he said that the names of the party candidates would be finalized within next fifteen days. The candidates for the three snow bound constituencies of Bharmaur, Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur would be finalized much earlier so that they were able to start their campaign in time.
He said that the state unit of party would send panel of candidates to the party high command and the final decision regarding the candidates would be of the party Supremo. She would personally interview all the aspirants and then decide the names, Shukla added.
Shukla said that besides local issues, other state level and national level issues would also be taken up in the election.
