himachal-s-hamirpur-turns-a-different-poll-pitch

Seemingly governed by the psyche ‘Once bitten twice shy’, the people of Hamirpur, who felt the pinch of defeating BJP’s CM candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal and electing Rajender Rana instead in Sujanpur in 2017, are weighing their options carefully this time as the prestige of Congress CM, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who too comes from Hamirpur district, is attached to the outcome of Assembly by-polls.

 

By-polls to the two Assembly constituencies, simultaneously with Lok Sabha polls on June 1, in Hamirpur, the home district of Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu are being fought on a different pitch with whispers of ‘One vote for PM, one for the CM’ gaining momentum secretly in political circles.

 

The BJP nominee for the Lok Sabha poll from Hamirpur is Union minister and sitting MP, Anurag Thakur, while the BJP nominees for the two Assembly by-polls in Hamirpur district are Congress rebels, Rajender Rana in Sujanpur and Inderdutt Lakhanpal in Badsar.

 

Independent MLA from Hamirpur constituency, Ashish Sharma too has resigned (along with other two Independents) from the Assembly and joined BJP, but their resignations have not been accepted by the Speaker, yet.

 

Field reports said the people of Hamirpur, above party lines, have a feeling of ‘Once bitten twice shy’. 

 

There is a valid reason for this psyche in Hamirpur. In the 2017 Assembly polls, the voters in Sujanpur had elected Rajender Rana of Congress, defeating BJP’s CM face and the former two-time CM, Prem Kumar Dhumal. 

 

This brought the transition of leadership in BJP and a new face, although five times MLA then, Jai Ram Thakur was elevated as CM after the 2017 polls. 

 

While people were at a loss by losing the chance to have a Chief Minister from their area, the development also suffered, after Dhumal was ousted from prominence as the previous BJP Chief Minister, Jai Ram Thakur allegedly ignored Dhumal camp and Hamirpur district due to internal politics.

 

Rana, who considered Dhumal as his political ‘guru’ once but joined Congress after differences with him, is back in BJP again, seemingly leaving Dhumal and Anurag Thakur blank in expressions.

 

A cross-section of the people in Hamirpur district admits that it was a mistake to defeat a tall leader and CM face like Dhumal in 2017 for a newcomer in Congress. “Rana had his clout then as he has been doing great social service in the area for a long. 

 

However, in the 2022 Assembly polls, he won by just around 300 votes on the Congress ticket. Now, when he revolted against Congress within 14 months of rule and joined BJP in a dramatic turn of events after disqualification from the Assembly, he may lose votes on this account, especially as the BJP nominee he defeated in 2022 is contesting as an independent now,” said some locals.  

 

More so, the people may not want to repeat the same mistake by going against the interest of Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu from Hamirpur. Sukhu is the first Congress CM from lower areas of Himachal Pradesh. Founder CM of Himachal, Dr YS Parmar was from Sirmaur, while Thakur Ram Lal and Virbhadra Singh were from Shimla district.

 

The political observers find that loss of seats in the Assembly by-polls in his home district will certainly mean weakening of the Chief Minister in his party and the state even though he is holding the Congress forte in North India amid adversities.

 

The Congress has yet not declared its candidates for the Lok Sabha or Assembly by-polls and is just waiting and watching the happenings after the rebellion and entry of Congress rebels in the BJP, which is not being taken in positive stride by the people in Himachal Pradesh.

 

“Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur has deliberately launched Rajender Rana from Hamirpur to demean the Dhumal family, as Rana was responsible for former BJP CM Dhumal's unceremonious exit from politics,” said Working President of Congress, Chandrashekhar. 

 

He said Jai Ram Thakur did not visit the former CM, Prem Kumar Dhumal even once during his previous tenure and did not do anything for Hamirpur district.

 

The Congress leader said Rajender Rana has been an opportunist in politics and after humiliating his own ‘political guru’ over the last 12-13 years and then defeating him in 2017, he is now seen visiting Dhumal’s residence in Samirpur frequently.

 

The Congress, which is yet to declare its candidates for all the four Lok Sabha seats in the state, is unlikely to find a formidable candidate in Hamirpur, with Anurag Thakur having a strong base, being four times MP in a row. 

 

Party sources said although every election is taken seriously by the political parties, the Congress focus this time is to ensure victory in the six Assembly by-polls to stabilize the government.