After Punjab, AAP eyes Himachal; BJP says no scope for 'third' front

The AAP is hopeful of repeating its Punjab-type' performance in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, scheduled to be held later this year.

The ruling BJP, on the other hand, maintains that it will retain power in the hill state after its remarkable performances in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Buoyed with a landslide victory in neighbouring Punjab, Himachal Pradesh Aam Aadmi Party president Anup Kesri told PTI that the people of the state are fed up with the traditional political parties.

The AAP will create history in Himachal Pradesh like it has created in Punjab, and it will form its government in the hill state, he added.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party had failed to secure any seat in the previous elections in Himachal Pradesh, whereas it had won four Lok Sabha and 20 Vidhan Sabha seats in Punjab previously.

When asked about this, Kesri said the AAP had created its base in each of the 67 Assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh.

Further, the Punjab poll results will certainly have a positive impact on the AAP's performance in Himachal Pradesh, he said, adding that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and other prominent leaders of the party are expected to visit the state soon.

A resident of Una district, Kesri said it was up to his party high command to decide where he will be fielded from.

The state's BJP chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma told PTI that his party will replicate its success in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in Himachal Pradesh, too.

He said the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government was performing well and in the recent budget, it lowered the age limit for old age pension from 70 to 60 years.

These measures will help the BJP to come to power again, he claimed.

On the AAP's claim, Sharma said that there was no scope for a third party in Himachal Pradesh. Such experiments were done earlier too, but they were not successful, he said.

The Opposition Congress, too, is hopeful of victory, particularly after its recent win in the bypolls.