BJP jolts Cong, nets a prized catch in Mandi

Barely three hours before the nominations ended in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress received a rude jolt in Mandi when its former party district chief decided to join the BJP.

Barely three hours before the nominations ended in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress received a rude jolt in Mandi when its former party district chief decided to join the BJP. D.D.Thakur, who had earlier resigned from the party and had filed his nomination papers as an Independent yesterday, changed tracks yet again to contest as a BJP candidate after night-long developments.

Thakur had rebelled against the Congress for giving a ticket to Anil Sharma, son of former Union minister Sukh Ram, and now will fight Sharma from Mandi sadar. Mandi has always been a Sukh Ram stronghold even though he was expelled from the party after being booked by the CBI in the telecom scam.

“Thakur has a clean image and strong backing in Mandi. For years, he has been loyal to the Congress person but when it came to the allotment of tickets, the party favoured Sukh Ram. It’s a tragedy that Thakur was used as a tool against Sukh Ram has now been dumped and humiliated,” said state BJP Chief Jairam Thakur.

Thakur’s entry is seen as a big boost to the BJP’s prospects in Mandi. The party had been struggling to find an appropriate person to pose a formidable challenge to Sukh Ram. Thakur had been a Congress MLA from 1985-’90 and was a staunch Virbhadra Singh loyalist till Virbhadra fought against Sukh Ram. He also contested sucessfully against Sukh Ram in 1998.