Vivek Gupta 
Palampur/Joginder Nagar (Himachal Pradesh): Against the gentle curve of the hills and serenity of the landscape, a group of youngsters running and exercising in an open playground at Palampur’s Kandbari village paints the picture of vibrant energy and camaraderie.
The adrenalin in them is fuelled by their dream to join the armed forces, guided by both employment opportunities as well as their sense of duty for the country.
But deep down there is a resentment as well. “The four-year recruitment tenure in short-term defence recruitment model, popularly known as Agniveer or Agnipath scheme, is a gross injustice,” says village boy Rohit (21) preparing for recruitment. “If at all, the scheme needs to have minimum tenure, it should not be less than 10-11 years,” he adds.
The scheme seeks to recruit youth for four-year service and only 25% of them will be retained in regular service, which worries youth the most.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Rohit’s friend Vinay (18) tells The Wire that it is being propagated that Agniveers (as they are called under the Agnipath scheme) will be given cash compensation as well as reservation in local police recruitment to ensure that they get enough resources and opportunities for re-employment after retirement.
He says this is troubling. For instance, recruitment in Himachal’s police department has not taken place for the last many years. In 2022, the issue of a paper leak ruined the entire constable recruitment process in the state. There is no guarantee that such recruitment will take place regularly in the state in future.
As far as cash compensation is concerned, this too is not enough, says Vinay. “Every Angiveer after retirement will be paid Rs 22 lakh. In our village, constructing a house costs not less than Rs 25 lakh today. One can very well imagine our situation,” he says demanding changes in the scheme.
Last year, 20 from the village were selected under the scheme, raising an important question as to why youth keep trying hard for Angivesh despite their strong reservation.
Nineteen years old Anshul, another village youth, replies, “This is our compulsion. Government jobs in Himachal are very limited. Only contractual jobs are available and that too with extremely low salaries. The situation is the same in the private sector.”
He says jobs in the armed forces were a major source of employment for local youth. Besides, it is attached to tradition as well. This has been curtailed now.
Congress makes Agniveer an election issue, BJP retorts
As the Lok Sabha election enters its last phase, the Agniveer scheme has become an important poll issue, especially in Hamirpur, Kangra and parts of Mandi and Bilaspur districts, which sends a significant number of soldiers to armed forces.
Sensing that it can catch the attention of youth, Congress has made Agniveer a big election issue days ahead of voting in Himachal on June 1.
During an election meeting in Himachal, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the BJP government through the scheme turned soldiers into labourers.
He added that it was a scheme prepared by Narendra Modi and not by the Army, adding that the INDIA bloc government would “throw it in the dustbin” after it was voted to power on June 4, the day of counting.
Local Congress candidates like Anand Sharma from Kangra and Vikramaditya Singh from Mandi too have been reiterating Rahul’s statement and making it among others an important strategy in their poll campaign.
The BJP, on the other hand, countered Rahul Gandhi, saying that he was spreading misinformation to get votes. Union minister Amit Shah said that Agniveers will get a lot of relaxation in the selection process like age, examination and physical tests for recruitment in police as well as paramilitary forces. Shah said after this, there might hardly be any Agniveer without a job, adding a lot of security companies will also prioritise Agniveers.
He claimed that Rahul Gandhi was spreading lies for political reasons. Union minister General VK Singh (Retd) too said in his election meeting in Punjab, “I want to advise Rahul Gandhi that he must serve in the Army first and then make any statement about the Agniveer scheme. It is not right to say anything if he does not know the Army.”
Local BJP candidates too have been echoing similar sentiments to counter the Congress poll campaign on this issue.
Multiple factors
In the 2019 election, which was fought on nationalism, approximately 70% of 55 lakh plus Himachal voters voted for BJP, making it win all four seats: Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Shimla. In 2014 too, the result was the same.
Shimla-based political analyst Professor Ramesh Chauhan told The Wire that Modi was the dominant factor in the previous two parliament elections, swinging the victory in favour of his party candidates.
“Modi is still an important factor. But in the absence of any emotive issue like nationalism, the field is wide open. Issues like Agniveer, unemployment, and price rise are very much in contention. Both the parties are evenly contested this time,” he adds.
Of all seats, the Mandi constituency has been grabbing the most attention. The entry of BJP candidate and actor Kangana Ranaut and young royal scion Vikramaditya Singh from Congress raised the profile of the constituency.
Several of whom The Wire spoke to in Joginder Nagar, an assembly constituency under the Mandi seat, expressed a view that both candidates have an equal chance of winning.
A shopkeeper, who did not want to be identified, said that while Kangana appears to have a lead in the lower part of the Mandi area, Vikramaditya is getting support in the upper part of the constituency that is spread over 17 constituencies.
“Areas like Joginder Nagar will be key in deciding who wins or loses,” he adds.
A fuel pump operator says if at all, Kangana wins, it is because of the Modi factor.
Another high-profile constituency is Kangra where Congress veteran Anand Sharma is pitted against BJP’s Rajeev Bhardwaj, the party’s state vice president.
On the left is a poster appealing for votes in the name of the Congress candidate, and on the right is a poster calling for support in the name of the BJP candidate from the Kangra Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh. Photo: Vivek Gupta.
Here, the Modi factor remains very much visible along with resentment against Congress’s Himachal government especially on issues like delay in disbursement of cash subsidy to women.
But Congress hinges its fate on issues like Agniveer and unemployment to prevail over the Modi factor and anti-incumbency against state government.
Another constituency to watch is Hamirpur where Union minister Anurag Thakur of the BJP is facing Congress’s Satpal Raizada in Hamirpur.
The Congress has pitted its Kasauli MLA Vinod Sultanpuri from the Shimla seat against BJP’s Suresh Kashyap, the current MP.