Why does the road to Himachal throne go through Kangra? 

It is widely held that whichever party gets majority seats in the Kangra district goes on to form the government in Himachal Pradesh.

Among 12 districts in the hill state and out of the total 68 seats, Kangra has the highest number of 15 assembly segments.

In the 2017 assembly elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 11 seats with the Congress winning three and an independent one.

Though the BJP registered an impressive performance in the elections, it named Jairam Thakur, a Rajput leader who hails from the Mandi district.

Prior to that, the Congress too performed well in the district and went on to form the government.

The ruling party does not have a credible Brahmin face after the retirement of former chief minister Shanta Kumar, 87, from active politics.

Kumar held the chief minister's post twice - first from 1977 to 1980 and then from 1990 to 1992 when his and other BJP governments were dismissed following the Babri Masjid demolition.

The Congress is banking on the former minister and three-time legislator Sudhir Sharma to win over the Brahmin votes.

None of the two parties have a strong Rajput leader from the region.

Himachal Pradesh is a cyclic state as no government has retained power since its formation in 1971.

No incumbent government has returned to power with the exception of 1985 when the late Virbhadra Singh had opted for mid-term polls to encash the Indira Gandhi assassination wave and consolidate his grip over the state.

Though the Congress hopes to regain power this time banking on the anti-incumbency against the BJP, the grand old party is plagued by infighting. This factionalism could cost the Congress dear as happened in Uttarakhand where the BJP retained power and demolished the myth of a cyclic state.

This is also the first election which Congress will fight without Virbhadra Singh who died on July 8 last year at the age of 87 years.

Though Other Backward Classes (OBCs) have a sizeable population in Kangra, politically active Rajputs dominate the scene in the region.

That is why Shanta Kumar despite being from the biggest district of the state could not match the late Virbhadra Singh and his own party colleague and former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

Among the OBCs in Kangra, the Congress has veteran leader Chander Kumar.

As is evident so far, Congress has a clear edge in the Kangra district due to the caste factor. On the other hand, the BJP does not have a popular face who could have been a replacement to Shanta Kumar.

The other factor that might help Congress is the unease among the employees, who constitute around 10% of the total electorate. The employees might express their resentment through their votes.

That said, a keen contest awaits Himachal Pradesh as it goes to the polls in November-December this year. The entry of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after its stupendous performance in neighboring Punjab has spiced up the upcoming electoral battle in Himachal Pradesh.