By Vishal Gulati Shimla 4th September : Bharatiya Janata’s Himachal Pradesh veteran and two-time chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal who lost to his former rival Rajinder Singh Rana of the Congress in the last elections from a different seat, is determined to join in the contest in the annual assembly elections in the coming year.
In the age of 78, his steadfast conviction is that he was defeated, but not politically ruined.
Analysts believe that three-time member of Parliament Dhumal who played a key role in the formation of the BJP government with the support of Sukh Ram’s Himachal Vikas Congress in 1998 and has decided to give himself another chance to win and this time from the ground he was defeated from.
While the party scored a stunning victory in the House of 68 and 68, the chief ministerial nominee of the party Dhumal lost in straight contests of 1,919 votes in Sujanpur, a seat in his district of Hamirpur in the state of Hamirpur, where he was asked to run against despite his opposition as his former ‘poll director as well as a currently sitting Independent legislator Rana was in the race on the Congress ticket.
BJP officials close to Dhumal, who is the father of the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur, believe that the former chief minister who played a key role for more than two decades in strengthening the party following the departure of Shanta Kumar who was the first non-Congress chief minister in 1977, should be given the opportunity to contest again in spite of his age.They claim that voters are emotionally connected to him following his defeat.
“Dhumal-ji would like to say goodbye to the party in a respectful manner instead of with the smudge of loss on his face.His contributions to the party are unmatched and he retains a significant influence in the state.
In this day and age there is an occasion to instruct his former foe the lesson of taking on his opponent in the same way in the upcoming assembly elections,” a senior BJP leader said to IANS under the condition of confidentiality.
Without hesitation The party’s leader who was Minister of Cabinet in the final term of Dhumal said, “Dhumal-ji has recently conveyed to the party’s central leadership that he would like to join the fray, which is the final step in his political career.I hope that the leadership will respect his wishes by giving him a second chance.”
In the last assembly elections party insiders say Dhumal was displeased with the party’s decision to move the party’s headquarters from its Hamirpur base to adjacent Sujanpur.In the days before the elections the BJP declared him to be the party’s face for the elections.
Sometimes called “sadak wale mukhya namantri” or”the Chief Minister,”, who is recognized with creating roads.
Dhumal was the head of the state from 1998 until 2003, and from 2008 until 2012.
In recent times, Dhumal has become active in the state political arena by taking part in public meetings, mostly in his well-loved Sujanpur district.
“In politics, one can be faced with an defeat, while another is facing victory.It’s a failure for us to not be able to provide justice to the Sujanpur people (of Sujanpur).It’s time to reflect,” an emotional Dhumal had said after losing by a narrow margin of 3,500 votes.
In the political world Dhumal’s sudden agressive posture and involvement in political activities is perceived in the context of the deliberate omission of his closest advisers Ravinder Kumar Ravi and his MP son Anurag Thakur’s father-inlaw Gulab Singh Thakur.Both also lost their last elections.
A sign of Dhumal’s entrant into the fray was in the form of MP Indu Goswami declared last week in his address to the BJP Mahila Morcha that women should join together for the triumph of Dhumal.
“The women should ensure former Chief Minister Dhumal is elected with an enormous margin in the elections for the assembly This is my plea,” she said in the presence of the two-time Chief Minister.
Dhumal’s popularity and influence could be determined from his involvement in all Lok Sabha polls fought by his son he was seen on the streets in a frenzied manner in his Hamirpur district to ensure his safe return.
Since his victory in the by-election to the parliamentary seat in May 2008 The picture of Anurag Thakur has become of an active cricket manager and politician who is in constant contact with the powerful and high-powered constantly.
This is the reason why Dhumal will be spending all of his effort and time in the area to ensure the victory of his son according to an influential BJP leader acknowledges.
In the days leading up to elections, the political climate in Himachal Pradesh, it appears, is difficult for lotus flowers to blossom at least for the moment.
While the silent rebels of the BJP continue to be a source of pain the BJP, it seems to be a struggle for the primary rival Congress that is betting on a tendency to win the election since both Congress as well as the BJP were in charge of the state from 1985.
Political observers say that the ruling BJP believes that the upcoming assembly elections are a semi-final in advance of the final of the 2024 parliamentary elections it has managed to get an advantage over its “faction-ridden” rival by revealing regarding its chief ministerial nominee in advance of the assembly elections at the end of the year.The Congress remains an “divided house” in the absence of an unpopular leader like the late Virbhadra Singh, who spent more than 50 years serving the everyday citizen.
Fearing a threat from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after its sweeping victory in the neighboring Punjab, Bharatiya Janata Party head J.P.Nadda, who has origins in Himachal Pradesh, in April declared that the party would not succeed the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and the elections to the Punjab assembly will be contested under his direction.
However, a significant anti-incumbency movement against the ruling BJP is evident in the loss of three assembly seats and one parliament seat in the by-polls held in October 2021.
Political analysts believe that the re-entry of Dhumal who is well-liked by his supporters due to his friendly personality, in the political landscape at the moment, in which the party faces opposition by the AAP will ensure the BJP’s smooth return in the state.
(Vishal Gulati is reached via [email protected])
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