Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election 2017: Will old wine in a new bottle work for BJP or Congress?

Himachal Pradesh is slated to go to the polls on Thursday. Ahead of the Assembly election, the C-Voter survey predicted an overwhelming win for the BJP . However, neither party seems to be taking things lightly. [caption id=“attachment_4194235” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Prem Kumar Dhumal. News18[/caption] While the BJP has declared Prem Kumar Dhumal as its chief ministerial candidat e  and has deployed an array of star campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Yogi Adityanath and party chief Amit Shah , the Congress has wagered on its old warhorse Virbhadra Singh, a six-time chief minister  who is seemingly fighting the good fight by his lonesome. However, if the old adage of “all politics is local” holds true, it is the ground battle between candidates that will ultimately determine the fate of the parties. In the 2012 Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election, eight candidates won by less than 1,000 votes.  Despite the closely fought nature of the election, both parties seem to be attempting an “old wine in a new bottle” approach and have reenlisted some candidates. Here’s a brief look at some of those candidates and constituencies. Bhattiyat In 2012, BJP’s Bikram Singh Jaryal eked out a win over his Congress counterpart Kuldeep Singh Pathania. Jaryal received 18,098 votes, compared to Pathania’s 17,987 votes. The margin of victory was razor-thin. Only 111 votes separated the candidates. Both parties have bet on the same candidates:  Jaryal will be relying on the party's popularity in the hills and bank on the ‘Modi card’, while Pathania is attempting to play up the government’s report card and fan the anger of the people against the Centre. Sri Renukaji In 2012, the Congress candidate Vinay Kumar won 21,332 votes compared to BJP candidate Hirdaya Ram 20,677 votes. The difference was a mere 655 votes. However, the Congress is confident of protecting their turf and has tapped Kumar again, whereas the BJP has switched their candidate and gone with Balbir Chauhan. While Chauhan isn’t the strongest of candidates, the BJP is hoping that the presence of the prime minister in Himachal Pradesh during the last few days of campaigning will tilt the balance of the race towards Chauhan. Paonta Sahib The Congress brought Kirnesh Jung, who ran as an independent candidate in 2012 and received 23,371 votes into the fold. Jung previously defeated BJP candidate Sukh Ram Chaudhary, who received 22,923 votes. But the Congress seems to be having a tough time protecting this seat and is on the defensive , as evidenced by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh reaching Paonta late Sunday evening and holding a closed-door meeting with Congress leaders at Jung’s election headquarters. Jung has accused Chaudhary of hurting religious sentiments of the people and is hoping that will do the trick. The BJP, on the other hand, has expressed confidence in Chaudhary and believe that last time’s margin of 448 votes can be overcome. The votes will be counted on 18 December, the same day Gujarat goes to the polls. Read  live updates on the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election 2017 here .