But the contrast is striking nevertheless. Himachal has a unblemished record as far as communal harmony is concerned. There were no reports of communal tension in the region, in the wake of Partition. The communal frenzy stirred up by the Babri issue and the Godhra incidents did not have a ripple here. Admittedly, Himachal’s Muslim population is mainly confined to two pockets, the Chamba and Sirmour districts, but even these areas remained completely peaceful when communal tensions were building up in other parts of the country. However, it is intriguing that no party has ever fielded a Muslim candidate in the state. It is only in the current elections that a Muslim candidate is contesting as an independent from Shimla.

The BJP has a strong vote bank in Himachal, even though it has faced the anti-incumbency backlash every time it came to power. The 1993 election saw it faring the worst: while the party strength was reduced to merely eight seats in a house of 68 during that election, the party managed to garner a vote share of 33.8 per cent. In the 2002 elections, when the Congress won 44 seats and the BJP merely 6, the latter received 35.38 per cent of votes polled.

With a two-party system firmly in place in the state, Himachal’s voters had been alternating between the Congress and the BJP ever since the state attained full statehood in 1971. The only exception was in 1993, when mid-term elections were held and the then Congress chief minister, Virbhadra Singh, had taken the calculated risk of seeking the dissolution of assembly about a year before its term was to expire. That was the only time the voters gave a split verdict and although Virbhadra Singh formed the government with the help of defectors, the government did not last long.

This time there are some interesting straws in the wind, though. For the first time ever, the BSP is making a concerted effort to gain a foothold here. Will Maya be able to alter the bi-polar pattern of power in Himachal? For that we will have to wait until the results come in later this month.