Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur claimed that his party will be successful to change the ‘rivaz’ (tradition of anti-incumbency), as people have already made up their minds and the opposition Congress party is not comfortable with it.

Addressing media persons on the concluding day of the campaigning for the assembly elections on Thursday, Thakur said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, UP CM Yogi Aditya Nath, and Union ministers actively campaigned in the state and gave a lot of impetus and support to the party.

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“According to the assessment so far in the light of various surveys one thing is clear that this time only BJP is forming the government with the blessings of the people,” he asserted, adding that his party entered the electoral fray on basis of unprecedented work done in the last five years.

The Modi Government at the Centre has given the status of a special state category to Himachal, due to which many schemes were started successfully in Himachal, he added.

“Thousands of kilometers of roads were constructed under PMGSY. This time in spite of Covid, we set a record of constructing 5000 km of new roads. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, our government has provided taps to 8.65 lakh households within three years. Overall, there has been all-round development of Himachal under the BJP government,” he claimed.

Reiterating his party’s resolve to develop Himachal, he said, “In our ‘Sankalp Patra(manifesto), our party has made promises to provide relief to the people of all sectors. We had already been working for the proper education of daughters, now cycles will be given to the school girls and scooty to those girls seeking higher education.”

Thakur said that Rs 2,500 would be given as a scholarship to the top 5000 rank girl students in class 12th.

He said the safety and empowerment of women is their priority and in the manifesto we have promised Rs 25,000 to pregnant women so that the mother and child are safe and a revolving fund of Rs 40,000 will be provided for self-help groups.

And also, two percent interest will be charged on the loan for them, he added.

The BJP government had done unprecedented development works in Himachal during the tenure of five years which Congress did not do in the past 50 years in power, he claimed.

He said that PM Narendra Modi also has written a letter to the people of the state appealing that a double-engine government will have to be formed to take Himachal forward.

Responding to a question Thakur said that a committee has also been formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary regarding the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) so as to look for solutions.