Though the arch lights are more towards the big battle in Gujarat, the poll scene in Himachal Pradesh, which too is scheduled to go to polls, is no less interesting.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which secured a landslide victory in 2007 by winning 42 of the 69 seats, will be fighting it out under the leadership of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal against the Congress party led by Virbhadra Singh.

The Congress, which is under pressure from all over the country because of various scams and sky-high prices, will have to fight tooth and nail to dislodge the incumbent BJP. It is also a litmus test for the saffron party ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The important issues on which the elections would be fought are: