As Rohru goes to polls on Saturday to fill the vacancy created by Virbhadra Singh’s election to the Lok Sabha earlier this year, the Congress may see a different wind blowing in the belt, which never allowed the BJP to gain a foothold in the past.

Contrary to its track record in all elections, the BJP is finding the grounds a bit comfortable this time. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who spent five days campaigning here and had most of his ministers camp in Rohru for a fortnight, has high stakes and finds it an opportunity to extend the BJP base to the erstwhile Congress country.

If the prevailing trend is any indication, it is going to be a tough battle for the Congress, though Virbhadra has undoubtedly, and single-handedly, brought around a change in the scene after serious campaigning in the last few days.

Party leaders, after denial of ticket to Pratibha Singh, had given up their hopes for a respectable fight. It was initially a tough task for the party to get down to campaigning. But things have now somewhat changed for the better in the Congress camp.

Pratibha’s entry in the campaign scene on the last day has helped the party make some dent in the upbeat BJP sectors.

“If Manjit Thakur (the Congress candidate) is pinning hopes for a photo-finish now, the sole credit goes to Raja Sahib (Virbhadra), who took it as a personal challenge to silence his detractors. We really wonder why the people (rival Congress camp) who manipulated the ticket for Manjit Thakur did not step into the constituency for a single poll meeting,” a state Congress leader in Rohru told The Indian Express.

Not everyone is, however, so enthusiastic about Congress’s chances. Many strongly feel that since BJP candidate Khushi Ram Balnatah is fighting his last electoral battle, he has a “sympathy” wave in his favour. Balnatah lost to Virbhadra four times but never left Rohru to try his luck from elsewhere and better his career prospects.

“There are some staunch Congressmen who had been earlier voting for Virbhadra Singh. They now fear if the Congress candidate loses this election, the Union minister’s detractors may launch a fresh attack against him. But it will only narrow down my victory margin and will not stop Rohru from rewriting its history,” feels Balnatah. During the campaign, Virbhadra made efforts to convince the voters that the real fight in Rohru is not between him and the CM but also with party rivals trying to pin him down. Dhumal, on the other hand, focussed on Rohru’s development.