CM Sukhu makes ‘contractor’ jibe at BJP bypoll candidate, invites questions about own govt’s tenders

Denying the charges, Sharma said, “During campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Hamirpur, CM Sukhu had claimed he had given Rs 100 crore contracts to me. In a month, Sukhu has increased the tender amount to Rs 135 crore. I am sure when Sukhu comes to Hamirpur in the next couple of days, he will not hesitate to increase the tender amounts to Rs 500 crore. Someone should ask him how he awarded the tenders to me when the Model Code of Conduct was already imposed. And if this is a fact, he is the CM and he should say this with the list of tenders in his hands.”

In a Facebook Live, Sharma also read a list of the construction projects he had proposed to Sukhu, which he claimed were turned down. These amounted to Rs 11 crore, he said.

The BJP co-incharge of the Hamirpur bypoll and its Bilaspur (Sadar) MLA, Trilok Jamwal, has asked if Sukhu is alleging irregularities in awarding of contracts under his own government. “If Sukhu says that during the Congress tenure, Ashish Sharma took contracts worth crores from him, then should it be understood that contracts are distributed in the CM’s office? Is there any flaw in the open tendering system of this government or the CM has no option left except lying at the time of elections?” Jamwal said.

A Congress leader admitted that while it is common for MLAs to have business interests, there was no clarity on the amount being attributed to Sharma’s companies.

“Business firms routinely get tenders but the worth of the tenders might be not as high as it is being speculated. There are many Congress MLAs who also have business interests directly or indirectly.”

Sharma was among the three Independent MLAs who voted in favour of the BJP nominee for the Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal this February. All three later resigned, and now have been fielded by the BJP from their respective seats for the bypolls – Sharma from Hamirpur, KL Thakur from Nalagarh, and Hoshyar Singh Chambyal from Dehra.

Along with the Independents, six Congress MLAs had cross-voted causing the surprise defeat of the party nominee, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and handing the BJP’s Harsh Mahajan a victory.

Soon after, Sharma was booked for “influencing the electoral process” by the Himachal Pradesh Police.

While the seats vacated by the Independents are seeing bypolls now, the six Congress MLAs who cross-voted had been disqualified and the elections to their seats had been held along with the recent Lok Sabha polls. The Congress had won four of these seats as opposed to the BJP’s two.

The bypolls to the seats held by the Independents hence are a crucial prestige battle for the BJP, while the Sukhu government is seeking to consolidate his government’s majority further after surviving a scare following the Rajya Sabha poll cross-voting.

Sukhu also has personal stakes in the fight, with his wife the Congress candidate from Dehra.

Who is Ashish Sharma?

Sharma, 37, belongs to a family with business interests in road construction and mining. According to Sharma’s poll affidavit, he has capital investments in Mahadevi Stone Crushers (Rs 36.28 lakh), Mahadev Stone Crushers (Rs 1.10 crore), and Sukkar Stone Crushers (Rs 16.69 lakh).

After completing his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) from Jaypee University, Solan, in 2009, Sharma joined the family business.

Although associated with the RSS for a long time, Sharma contested as an Independent in the 2022 election, his first, when the BJP denied him a ticket, to field Narinder Thakur instead.

Why is Hamirpur significant?

While Sukhu hails from Hamirpur’s Nadaun, which he also represents in the Assembly, Depuy CM Mukesh Agnihotri’s Haroli seat is also in the same district. Sharma is considered to have created a base in Hamirpur, especially his native village of Sujanpur, with people citing the gaushala he has built there.

Due to Sharma’s association with the Sangh, the BJP is confident he will retain his seat. Said a party leader, “Ashish Sharma has the brightest chances to win among the three in the coming bypolls. There are two reasons behind this. First, the BJP cadre are happy to see Ashish as the party candidate. In fact, the cadre wanted him to be the party’s candidate in 2022. That was the reason behind his win last time as an Independent. Second, Hamirpur is the bastion of MP Anurag Thakur, son of former CM and BJP veteran Prem Kumar Dhumal.”

In fact, Thakur has been spending almost all his time in Hamirpur for the past few days to ensure that Sharma wins, and to put behind the recent bypoll results.

A Congress leader said that while it is common for MLAs to have business interests, there was no clarity on the amount being attributed to Sharma’s companies.

“Business firms routinely get tenders but the worth of the tenders might be not as high as it is being speculated. There are many Congress MLAs who have also business interests directly or indirectly.”