BJP faces tough climb in Mandi dist, CM Jai Ram Thakur among constants

Though Jai Ram Thakur boasts of starting the Atal Medical and Research University in Mandi, and of launching the construction of Shiv Dham, a religious-cum-tourism centre, though it is yet to be completed, locals are angry over several issues in most constituencies, including bad roads, as well as failure to properly rehabilitate people displaced by projects to widen national highways into four lanes. Constituencies in the district affected by such projects include Mandi, Jogindernagar, Sunder Nagar, Darang and Nachan. The BJP is also facing rebellion here, like in other districts, more than the Congress.

So far, newcomer AAP is having little impact. While Sunita Thakur withdrew her papers from Darang on Saturday, the last day of withdrawal, and joined the BJP, the nomination papers of AAP candidate from Seeraj, advocate Gita Nand Thakur, were rejected during scrutiny, leaving the party with candidates on eight out of 10 seats.

A look at the constituencies in Mandi district:

Total number of voters: 8,58,646
Male: 4,33,847
Female: 4,24,798
Third gender: 1
First-time teenage voters (18-19 years): 34,447
80+: 19,089

Karsog (SC)

Total voters: 76,527
Male: 38,880
Female: 37,647
Sitting MLA: Hira Lal (BJP)
Current candidates:
BJP: Deepraj Kapoor
INC: Mahesh Raj
AAP: Bhagwant Singh
CPI(M): Kishori Lal

The BJP denied the ticket to sitting MLA Hira Lal and gave a chance to first-timer Deepraj Kapoor, following which, another BJP ticket aspirant, Yuvraj Kapoor, filed his papers as an independent, though he finally withdrew on Saturday after the state party leadership reached out to placate him. Although the Congress’s Mahesh Raj is also a first-timer, the fight seems to be straight, as AAP candidate Bhagwant Singh had mustered only 842 votes when he contested as an Independent in 2017.

Sundernagar

Total voters: 83,488
Male: 42,190
Female: 41,298
Sitting MLA: Rakesh Kumar Jamwal (BJP)
Current candidates:
BJP: Rakesh Kumar Jamwal
INC: Sohan Lal Thakur
AAP: Advocate Pooja Thakur

Voters of this constituency are consistent. They gave the BJP three consecutive terms in 2007, 2012 and 2017. Before that, they had given Congress three consecutive terms too, in 1993, 1998 and 2003. Here too, rebellion is troubling the BJP as Abhishek Thakur, the son of Roop Singh, who had won the seat six times, is contesting as a BJP rebel, setting up a triangular fight.

Nachan (SC)

Total voters: 88,319
Male: 43,506
Female: 40,627
Sitting MLA: Vinod Kumar (BJP)
Current candidates:
BJP: Vinod Kumar
INC: Naresh Kumar
AAP: Jabna Chauhan

This is another constituency that returned the BJP in 2007, 2012 and 2017; and the congress the three previous terms. This time, while the BJP is banking on its sitting MLA, he is facing a threat from BJP rebel Gyan Chand, who is fighting as an Independent. The Congress is better off, as rebel Lal Singh Kaushal withdrew his papers as an independent on Saturday. Voters here can be heard cribbing that all development works happened only in the CM’s constituency, while the rest of the constituencies were left with empty promises. This is believed to be one reason behind the BJP infighting in many constituencies.

Jogindernagar

Total voters: 1,00,806
Male: 50,855
Female: 49,951
Sitting MLA Pawan Rana (Independent)
Current candidates:
BJP: Pawan Rana
INC: Surender Pal Thakur
AAP: Ravinder Paul Singh
CPI(M): Kushal Bhardwaj

Dubai-based diamond merchant Parkash Rana, famous for having a helipad in his house and travelling across the state in his chopper, had surprised everyone when he defeated senior BJP leader Gulab Singh Thakur (father-in-law of Union MoS Anurag Thakur) in 2017. This time, Gulab Singh, who is related to former Himachal CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, is out of the race, though his nephew, Surender Pal Thakur, is the Congress candidate. There is a BJP rebel even in this seat—Sanjeev Bhandari, the son-in-law of BJP minister Mahendra Singh Thakur. Jogindernagar has the maximum voters (1,00,806) in this district. All other constituencies have less than one lakh voters. But it also has the maximum number of candidates in a seat in Mandi district—11.

Dharampur

Total voters: 82,426
Male: 41,440
Female 40,986
Sitting MLA: Mahendra Singh Thakur (BJP)
Current candidates:
BJP Rajat Thakur
INC: Chander Shekhar
AAP: Rakesh Mandotra

Mahendra is the most popular leader in this area, having won seven consecutive times from this seat while representing different parties. He is unbeaten since 1990, when he started his journey as an Independent. As a BJP candidate, he made a hattrick, winning in 2007, 2012 and 2017. The 70-year-old has now retired from politics, making way for his son Rajat Thakur—a decision that has garnered him a lot of respect from the masses. Rajat is pitted in a direct fight against Chander Shekhar of the Congress, who was their losing candidate last time.

Seeraj

Total voters: 84,133
Male: 43,506
Female: 40,627
Sitting MLA: Jai Ram Thakur (BJP, CM)
Current candidates:
BJP: Jai Ram Thakur
INC: Chet Ram Thakur
CPI(M): Mahendra Rana

As the seat of the incumbent CM, it is a pampered constituency. The Opposition has often alleged that Thakur as CM drew maximum development works to his constituency, neglecting the rest of the state. No wonder then, that this constituency has few problems regarding basic development works. Chet Ram Thakur, who was defeated by Jai Ram in 2017, is again the Congress candidate. There is no AAP representation here, as the nomination papers of its candidate, advocate Geeta Nand Thakur, were rejected during scrutiny. However, one of the two candidates the CPI(M) has fielded in Mandi is from Seeraj.

Mandi

Total voters: 78,015
Male: 39,013
Female: 39,002
Sitting MLA: Anil Sharma (BJP)
Current candidates:
BJP: Anil Sharma
INC: Champa Thakur
AAP: Shyam Lal

Anil Sharma, the son of the now deceased Sukh Ram—a former MLA and MP from Mandi—is the sitting MLA and will represent the BJP again. Sukh Ram, the disgraced Union telecommunications minister between 1993-1996, is credited with the BJP wave in the district in 2017. Anil, who had earlier won under the INC banner in 2007 and 2012, jumped ship before the 2017 polls and won on a BJP ticket. He was the state power minister till April 2019, when he resigned after his elder son, Ashray Sharma, joined the Congress and was given the Lok Sabha ticket from Mandi. Ashray lost to BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma, but his father Anil faced CM Jai Ram Thakur’s ire for the son’s desertion. Even then, Anil was again given the ticket from this seat.

Anil’s younger son, Abhishek Sharma, is a Bollywood actor and brother-in-law of superstar Salman Khan. After Anil jumped ship in 2017, Congress fielded Kaul Singh Thakur’s daughter Champa from this seat. She is again the Congress candidate.
Rebel factor is even on this seat as BJP state secretary Parveen Sharma is the independent candidate from this seat due to which, the contest will be triangular, said voters of the area.

Balh (SC)

Total voters: 81,501
Male: 40,786
Female: 40,715
Sitting MLA: Inder Singh Gandhi (BJP)
Current candidates:
BJP: Inder Singh Gandhi
INC: Parkash Chaudhary
AAP: Tarachand Bhatia

The Balh valley, where a clamour for change is discernible on the ground, will witness a contest between the sitting BJP MLA and two-time former winner Parkash Chaudhary of the Congress. The AAP also has a candidate here.

Darang

Total voters: 91,269
Male: 46,696
Female: 44,573
Sitting MLA: Jawahar Thakur
Current candidates:
BJP: Pooranchand Thakur
INC: Kaul Singh Thakur
BSP: Ramesh Kumar

Two-time PCC president Kaul Singh Thakur is the heavyweight Congress candidate from this constituency, which he had earlier won in 2007 and 2012. Kaul, who was defeated by the BJP’s Jawahar Thakur in 2017, had been the health and family welfare minister in the Congress government from 2012 to 2017. The eight-time MLA is being considered the CM frontrunner from Congress. With the AAP’s Sunita Thakur withdrawing on the last day to join the BJP, this seat too will see a straight fight.

Sarkaghat

Total voters: 92,162
Male: 46,084
Female: 46,077
Third gender:1
Sitting MLA: Col. (retd.) Inder Singh (BJP)
Current candidates:
BJP: Daleep Thakur
INC: Pawan Kumar Thakur
AAP: Dhaneshwar Ram

Former army officer Inder Singh, the three-time BJP MLA from Sarkaghat since 2007, has been retired following the BJP’s unofficial upper age limit policy, as he is now 75 years old. Instead, first-timer Daleep Thakur will slug it out with the Congress’s Pawan Kumar Thakur, who had lost to Inder Singh in 2017. Daleep is a BJP long-timer, having been in the party’s state body and president of its Sundernagar constituency. With multiple ticket aspirants, the Congress faces infighting in this constituency.