Himachal polls: For ballot hardened warriors, age just another number

Eighty-two-year-old Col Dhani Ram Shandil is a Congress candidate from Darang and has seen several generations of politics. In 1999, he was elected to the Lok Sabha as leader of Himachal Vikas Congress party and he went on to become a member of important parliamentary committees such as defence, petroleum, and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. He was re-elected as MP in 2004 on a Congress ticket.

Dhani Ram will be representing Solan constituency and looking for a hat-trick victory this time. The retired Army man defeated his son-in-law, Dr Rajesh Kashyap, in the previous elections and the contest will repeat itself in the upcoming November polls.

From Jawali, Congress has fielded 78-year-old Prof Chander Kumar who registered his first victory as an MLA in 1982 from an earlier Guler constituency. He had held several cabinet portfolios such as forest, irrigation, and agriculture till 2003 during his MLA terms. In 2004, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kangra constituency and has been active in district politics since 2009.

Chander faces BJP’s Sanjay Guleria in the upcoming polls.

Veteran Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur (76) will be fighting this year’s election from Darang once again. Between 1977 and 2022, Kaul Singh had lost elections from Darang only twice. Kaul Singh had been president of Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee twice in a row and held several important state cabinet portfolios such as health and family welfare in the past.

Kaul Singh’s daughter Champa Thakur has been given ticket from Mandi Sadar despite the party’s “One Family One Ticket” policy.

Kaul Singh will be facing BJP’s Puran Singh Thakur who has been fielded in place of sitting MLA Jawahar Singh Thakur.

Seventy-five-year-old Kishori Lal, former vice-president of the Congress state unit, is the party’s candidate from Baijnath constituency. Lal had served as the gram pradhan in the Baijnath region for five consecutive terms before getting into state politics. He worked closely with seven-time MLA Sant Ram and rose in popularity in the constituency. The seat was declared reserved in 2012 when Lal won. At present, the constituency is represented by
BJP’s Mulk Raj, who will again be fighting this time to retain the seat.

Thakur Singh Bharmouri, the 75-year-old Congress candidate from Bharmour assembly seat, was first elected as MLA in 1982. He won the seat again in 1985, 1993, 2003 and 2012. Following the 2012 elections, he served as forest minister in the Virbhadra Singh-led Himachal government and was also a member of the House panel for the welfare of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes. A popular Gaddi leader, Thakur Singh even edged out a youth Congress leader in getting the ticket at this age. He faces Dr Janak Raj who has been fielded in place of sitting BJP MLA, Dr Jiya Lal, prompting protests in Chamba district of the hill state.

Hailing from the erstwhile royal family of Kullu, Maheshwar Singh (73) was fielded by BJP from Kullu seat only to be replaced as he could not stop his son from fighting as an independent against BJP in Banjar. Maheshwar Singh had won the 2012 polls as part of the rebel Himachal Lokhit Party which later merged with BJP. Maheshwar Singh has been replaced by Narottam Singh for the Kullu seat this time.

Two months ago, Ram Lal Thakur (71) had expressed displeasure with the Congress party’s functioning amid speculation that he would quit. The senior leader – who first won the MLA seat in 1985 and went on to hold senior positions in the government – was later placated by party members and differences were resolved. He has been fielded from Naina Deviji constituency this time. He will take on BJP’s Randhir Sharma, a former MLA.

Four-time MLA and veteran leader Suresh Bharadwaj (70) may have been surprised by the party’s decision to shift his constituency from Shimla Urban to Kasumpti, but he remains a safe bet for BJP. The Urban Development Minister is a popular figure among public, party workers and the government set-up. Even while party workers protested against the change of seat, Bharadwaj comes off as a strong opponent against Congress’ Anirudh Singh.