Hamirpur: BJP Himachal Pradesh President Dr Rajeev Bindal, while addressing the media in Hamirpur, said the Bharatiya Janata Party was working to further strengthen its organisational structure across Himachal Pradesh, with a focus on expanding its network down to the polling-booth level. He said the party had reorganised its earlier 74 mandals into 171 mandals and created 17 organisational districts. Organisational structures have also been constituted at nearly 8,000 polling booths, while various morchas and cells have been formed. He said the BJP was now focusing on strengthening this structure at the grassroots level.
Dr Bindal said a two-day training camp was being organised in Hamirpur as part of this effort. The party, he said, would deploy 171 Vistaraks across the 171 mandals, with each Vistarak working alongside the respective Mandal President to strengthen the organisation at the booth level. He said the BJP believed that the real strength of an organisation lay at the booth and noted that monthly meetings were held at nearly 8,000 polling booths, with meetings currently taking place at around 6,000 to 7,000 booths every month.
Raising questions over the financial position of the state government, Dr Bindal referred to the latest ₹600 crore market borrowing announced by the Himachal Pradesh Government. He said the latest borrowing had taken the state’s announced market borrowings during the current financial year to around ₹4,800 crore. He claimed that borrowings during the tenure of the present government had crossed ₹45,000 crore and demanded that the government provide a detailed account of how the borrowed money had been utilised, including the amount spent on development works and the amount used for committed liabilities and other expenditure.
Dr Bindal also raised concerns over the condition of rural and link roads across Himachal Pradesh and referred to centrally funded infrastructure projects, including the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, national highways and four-lane projects. He said the state government should clearly present details of its own contribution towards development expenditure.
The BJP state president also alleged that the Congress government had spent around ₹1,000 crore on publicity and promotion during its tenure. He described this as a political allegation and demanded greater transparency over government publicity expenditure. Referring to publicity surrounding the Kishau Dam agreement, he questioned the expenditure on hoardings and promotional activities across the state. He said the government should explain its spending priorities when people were raising concerns over medical expenses, employee and pensioner dues and basic public services.
Dr Bindal further raised issues concerning treatment under HIMCARE and Ayushman Bharat and called upon the government to disclose the current status of payments due to hospitals under the two schemes.
Referring to the recently held Zila Parishad elections, Dr Bindal said elections for president and vice-president had been completed in 11 of the 12 Zila Parishads, with BJP-backed candidates securing the leadership in 10 of them, according to his statement. He also said elections had been completed in 87 of the state’s 92 Block Development Committees and claimed that BJP-backed candidates had secured the posts of president and vice-president in 60 BDCs. In Hamirpur district, he said elections had been completed in five of the six BDCs, with BJP-backed candidates securing leadership positions in four. He also questioned the delay in the Nadaun BDC election and raised the issue of elections to the Hamirpur Municipal Corporation.
Dr Bindal accused the state government of using FIRs against political opponents and described it as an “FIR government.” He said criticism of a government was an integral part of democracy and maintained that legal action against political opponents should follow impartial and uniform standards. He also raised questions over increases in various duties, registration charges, electricity costs, bus fares and other charges, and demanded that the government publish details of the old and revised rates to enable people to understand their financial impact.
On the Congress government’s pre-election guarantees, Dr Bindal questioned the implementation of promises made before the 2022 Assembly elections. He referred to commitments concerning ₹1,500 per month for women, employment opportunities for youth, electricity relief and milk procurement, and demanded a guarantee-wise progress report after nearly four years of the government. He asked the government to disclose how many women were currently receiving the ₹1,500 assistance, how many youths had received regular government employment, how many consumers had benefited from electricity relief and how many livestock farmers had benefited from milk procurement measures.
Responding to questions about alleged factionalism within the BJP, Dr Bindal said the party was united and would continue to move forward collectively. He said the BJP was an organisation where experienced as well as new workers were being accommodated and given responsibilities. Rejecting claims of divisions within the state unit, he said organisational activities were being carried out collectively across the state.
On four-lane highways and road construction, Dr Bindal said there should be no compromise on construction quality or public safety. Referring to improved connectivity between Chandigarh and Hamirpur through four-laning, tunnels and flyovers, he said the Kangra-Shimla and Matour-Mandi four-lane corridors would be important for Himachal Pradesh’s future connectivity. He stressed that technical standards, construction quality and public safety should remain priorities during the execution of such projects.
On a question concerning an alleged personal remark against a woman in Una and the subsequent FIR, Dr Bindal said the BJP was committed to the dignity and respect of women and did not support objectionable personal remarks against women. He also referred to the law providing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, describing it as an important measure to increase women’s participation in political decision-making.
Dr Bindal said the BJP would continue strengthening its organisational network down to the booth level while raising issues related to employment, healthcare, roads, financial management and public services in Himachal Pradesh.
