Six candidates are in the fray, but it will be virtually a direct contest between Shandil and Gangu Ram, the other four being inconsequential.

The Congress has lost this seat only once, in 1977 and its dropped candidate Sultanpuri had won all the six elections since 1980 with comfortable margins. Incidentally his traditional rival Varinder Kashyap, who unsuccessfully contested all the six elections against him is also not in the field as BJP had left the seat to the alliance partner HVC.

The Shimla parliamentary constituency comprises seventeen assembly segments spreadover Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts. With over 27 per cent population of scheduled castes, Sultanpuri had been winning this seat as Shimla and Sirmaur districts accounting for 12 Assembly segments had always remained Congress strongholds, but the HVC-BJP candidate is now determined to make a dent in Congress vote bank this time.

The Congress which managed to win this seat by 42,025 votes in 1998 faces a disadvantage that it is not in power in the state. The HVC which had polled 26,981 votes was being fully backed by the BJP which polled 2,65,836 votes.Taking in to account the combined votes of the BJP and HVC in 1998, the actual Congress lead narrowed down to 15,044 and with assembly elections not being held simultaneously, maintaining old leads in Rohroo, Jubbal-Katkhai, Chopal, Pachhad, Renuka and Shallai would be an uphill task for the Congress, say observers.

The total Congress lead in these six Assembly segments was 62,924 with Rohroo constituency of the then chief minister Virbhadra Singh aloneaccounting for a massive lead of 23,617.

The Congress claims that with the change of its candidate, the anti-incumbency factor has been wiped out and it would not only maintain its lead but improve over it.

However, the BJP-HVC combine was confident that the trend would be completely reversed and their candidate Dhani Ram Shandil would turn the tables on the Congress.

Kargil and stability are the main poll issues, though local problems do come up for debate during the campaign. The HVC candidate belongs to Kohli caste which constitutes more than 55 per cent of the scheduled caste voters and the ruling party hopes to make significant gains in Sirmaur and Solan districts.

Congress has made "non-performance" of the state government as the main poll issue and is trying to convince the people that the state government would not survive long after the new government at the Centre.

The Congress candidate Gangu Ram is a sitting MLA from Pachhad constituency in Sirmaur and had won all the five elections fromhere since 1982 when he was elected as an Indpendent. He is soft spoken having close contacts with his constituents.

There are 9,44,121 voters in this constituency with men outnumbering women voters by 62,785.