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Sitting in the BJP office, Devender Kumar Sharma, General Secretary of the party from Arki constituency, talks to The Quint with a confident smile. He is busy with party workers as they strategise their candidate Rattan Singh Pal’s win over the sitting Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
When Devender says “Rani ko hara diya”, he is referring to Raja saab’s wife, Pratibha Singh’s loss in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Mandi constituency. Rani, as she is popularly known, lost by a margin of 39,796 votes to first time BJP candidate Ramswaroop Sharma.
The Quint met with some people to sense the political leanings, and investigate if Raja saab could actually lose from his constituency.
Only a few minutes of walking on one of Arki’s main roads, the sound of a bubbling hukka grabs my attention. As I enter the quaint home of 52-year-old Gyan Pratap Singh, he sits with his pipe in a room that smells of burnt charcoal.
While Gyan knows his vote will be for the Congress, there are others who are particularly disenchanted with the party.
After stepping out of Gyan’s room, I’m greeted again by the chill and clean air of the town. From the corner of my eye, Muhammad Gulzar and his wife Sahiba, who own a vegetable shop, grab my attention.
As we sit to speak, Sahiba says Gulzar used to be a driver, and she stayed home. But things have not been the same since Gulzar hurt his left leg and needed surgery. He was told he could never drive long distances again. Since then, both Gulzar and Sahiba own this vegetable shop and make about Rs 10,000 a month.
She anticipates the question even before anything is asked, and pat comes the reply.
They both feel the Congress is secular and a better fit for them. “They gave us land where we could build ourselves a home. They’re looking out for us,” Gulzar says.
Both Gulzar and Sahiba were no fans of demonetisation either. Sahiba says her family lost Rs 15,000 as they needed money urgently and couldn’t wait in long queues.
Sree has two kids, a girl and a boy, who are both currently studying in middle school. His wife does not work.
A few minutes after meeting Sree, I met 43-year-old Bhoop Ram. Unlike what his name might suggest, he had no political inclinations whatsoever, fed up with parties and politics.
He still wants to vote though, but he is going to do it without any thought. “I’ll give my vote to whoever I want to at that moment. No thought whatsoever,” Ram says.
As the sun is about to set, the roads are emptier now. However, in a brightly lit room with green walls, Subhash is giving haircuts to teenagers.
He talks to The Quint as he continues to cut hair, making the young lad on the seat slightly nervous.
If Virbhadra was to lose, this wouldn’t be the first time he would lose from a seat as a contesting Chief Minister.
As I leave Subhash’s shop, it’s dark outside – not a soul on the road, but thousands of bright stars in the sky. In the coming days, Arki is going to have many road shows with prominent BJP and Congress leaders. It will be buzzing with activity. But tonight, the people go to sleep, some sure and some unsure of their vote, but all contemplating the assembly elections of 9 November.
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Published: 29 Oct 2017,07:37 AM IST