Accusations and counter accusations by stalwarts of the BJP and Congress marked the last leg of electioneering in this district today.

While former chief minister Virbhadra Singh lashed out at the state BJP government at Dharmapur and Darla, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal accused the Congress of failing to controlling prices and neglecting the state.

Addressing a gathering in Solan town, Dhumal accused UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi of misleading the masses by claiming that union government had provided financial assistance of Rs 23,000 crore to Himachal. He said the Prime Minister also deluded the state by not releasing a grant of Rs 4200 crore announced by him during his visit to state. “If the Congress is the only party which can provide stable and welfare-oriented government, why did Sonia Gandhi not utter a single word over the soaring prices during her speech in Shimla?” he questioned.

Virbhadra, meanwhile, charged the BJP with misleading the electorate over various issues, including escalating prices. He said that “NREGA has changed the face of rural India”. He accused the Dhumal government of corruption but also misinforming the people over the issues of development. He said that except inaugurating a large number of schemes initiated by his government, BJP has done nothing so far. “The Congress has got Himachal a place on the list of fast-developing states of the country,” he claimed.