At Himachal Kullu festival, political parties lay groundwork for polls, launch poster war

With weeks to go for the Himachal Assembly polls, the Kullu festival, a centuries-old, annual festival to pay obeisance to the Lord Raghunath deity, has turned into a major canvassing stage for political parties, including the ruling BJP and Opposition parties, given the massive footfall at its venue. More than 5 lakh people are expected to visit the festival in Kullu to pay obeisance to over 300 local deities, each in a different tent.

Every half an hour, the palanquins of the deities are carried from their tents to the main ground with a lot of fanfare. For the lakhs who descend on Kullu for the festival, there are several attractions, including games that dish out prizes worth more than Rs 1 crore.

Kullu district has four Assembly seats — Kullu, Banjar, Anni and Manali. Between 1985 and 2007, Kullu followed the state tradition, alternately choosing its representative from the BJP and Congress. The trend broke in 2012, when a candidate of the Himachal Lokhit Party, a party formed ahead of the elections, primarily consisting of rebel BJP leaders, won the seat.

In 2017, Congress leader Sunder Singh Thakur won the seat. This year, however, despite having the sitting MLA, the party’s poster war pales in comparison to the BJP’s and the Aam Aadmi Party’s. A poster of MLA Thakur congratulating the public for the festival is one of the few the party has put up.

The AAP, on the other hand, is attempting to make a fight of it by aggressively plunging into the poster battle with an eye on the Dussehra crowd. Along the DC office route, several posters of ‘ek mauka Kejriwal ko (another chance to Kejriwal)’ jostle for space with the BJP’s posters.

AAP’s posters mostly feature local leaders, each attempting to catch the eye of the leadership. “Our party have a lot of support in this region. All our leaders are welcome to put their names out. The fact remains that this region is witnessing a lot of unemployment, apart from local issues. There is a need for change in the state and the AAP is offering the same,” said Prashant Sharma, AAP in-charge for Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.

For the regulars at the festival, the political undertones of the festival are all too evident. “I have come here before, but I have never seen so many political posters. There were so many Modi posters along the route. The party is definitely spending a lot on publicity. But the youth want jobs. We have to go to other districts to look for work,” said Vinod Thakur, 25, a Kullu resident who works for a travel company.

“It was good to see the PM participate in the festival since no one has ever done that before. We were honoured that the PM not only took time out for the public but also for the deities. This shows that the government looks out for us,” said Meenal Thakur, 35, a resident of Kullu.

The BJP hopes the symbolism of Modi visiting the festival will boost its chances. “People here will remember the PM’s visit for a long time. The festival is a huge success… The government and the administration have done their best to make this a success,” said Bhim Sen, BJP in-charge for Kullu district.

“We are holding public meetings every day. Functions have also been organised as part of the festival in order to interact with more people. The support of the senior leaders has been crucial,” he added.

The Congress had earlier stated that the government was using public money to further their agenda. “We are witnessing a misuse of state funds to further the BJP’s propaganda. At a time when the state is reeling under debt, the BJP is busy campaigning. This clearly shows the priority of the government,” said Pratibha Singh, HPCC chief.