‘Coming together of Modi, Nadda, Jai Ram, and Anurag is a matter of chaturbhuj yog’

I lost my wife to Covid. That too, within five days of her getting infected. It was a big personal loss. We had a companionship of 60 years. Afterwards, I felt empty, alone. But my kids and family helped me take control of my life… The virus caused immense damage across the world. Many children lost their parents. There were a lot of other problems. By God’s grace, things have now improved.

India is among the countries that suffered minimum loss due to Covid. Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, the country fought bravely against the virus. The vaccination was fast and free.

What do you make of this election campaign?

In my entire political career, I haven’t seen campaigning on such a large scale in such a small state. The Prime Minister himself came here so many times, so did Union ministers one after another.

All the parties did their best, but none of them could match the BJP campaign and mobilisation of workers. The Congress is the oldest party. But its problem is that after Virbhadra Singh’s demise, there is no tall leader in the state. At the national level too, they haven’t been able to find one.

The main fight is between the BJP and the Congress, although the AAP, Independents and many BJP and Congress rebels are also in the fray. I feel the rebels and the AAP can only decide who wins and who loses on seats where victory margins are small.

Did you take part a lot in the election campaign?

Bimari ke karan bahut adhik nahin (Not very much, because of my bad health). I had tested Covid positive twice. Doctors advised me against exposure. But I visited nearby areas. In the Palampur constituency, I addressed two meetings. But I didn’t travel much, following doctors’ advice.

Do you think in a double-engine government, there is more burden on one engine?

No, both engines are working fine. Himachal ke liye yeh saubhagya ki baat hai, aur yeh chaturbhuj yog ka samay hai (It is a matter of good luck and a period of chaturbhuj yoga for Himachal Pradesh). Chaturbhuj yog is not an astrological calculation. It is my observation. Four things have happened for the first time in the 75-year-old history of Independent India. That’s why I am calling it chaturbhuj yog. First, the most popular prime minister among 190 countries in the world, Narendra Modi, calls Himachal his second home. Secondly, Himachal is a small state that’s difficult to find in India’s map, yet Jagat Prakash Nadda, who is from this state, is heading the biggest political party in the world. Thirdly, BJP’s Jai Ram Thakur is an able and popular CM. Fourthly, a promising young man from our state, Anurag Thakur, is doing wonderful work in the Union Cabinet.

It is a golden period for the people of the state. We should take maximum benefit of this period. I’ll even tell my Congress friends to vote for the BJP, as Himachal is for us all, and these four leaders have enhanced its prestige like never before.

You have had a long association with former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal. Why didn’t you take the stage together and make it a panchbhuj yog?

Woh bhi bahut kam ghoomein hain iss chunav mein, swasthya ke karan mere khyal mein. Mera to iss baar jana hi bahut mushkil ho gaya hai. Main to jo zaroori meeting Shimla mein hoti hai, usme bhi nahin ja paya (I think he too has not travelled much in this election due to health reasons. For me, it was difficult to step out this time. I am not even able to attend important meetings in Shimla).

I was asked to record the party’s message for Akashvani, but I said no, as I didn’t want to go to Shimla. So the party sent a helicopter, took me to Shimla and dropped me back after the recording.

How do you see Himachal’s future?

I see a good future for the state because people here are hardworking. Even today, it figures among top five states on affluence. All chief ministers have worked for the state’s development.

Excellent work has been done in the last five years, historic work will be done in the next five. I feel Himachal will emerge as the most prosperous state in the country.

When you say all CMs, do you mean those from Congress as well?

Every CM has worked. But the real story of development starts with our party. When I became the CM in 1977, women used to trudge 4-5 km with pitchers on their heads to fetch drinking water. I said we’ll supply drinking water to the people, but the then chief secretary, who was from Mizoram, told me, “Sir, this can’t be done because there is no such department.” I started a department to supply drinking water and worked energetically on this front. So much so that even today, people call me paniwala mukhyamantri [water chief minister]. I personally oversaw the installation of a tap in Kibber, the highest motorable village in the world, in Lahaul-Spiti. It is BJP governments that have been working on people’s basic needs.

What will be the outcome of the election?

The direct fight is between the BJP and the Congress. As of today, the BJP has an edge and will repeat its government.

You are a yoga practitioner.

Yoga is a miracle, a blessing of our rishi-munis. When I became the CM in 1977, I used to wear spectacles. Now I am 89, but I read newspapers and books without specs.

I’m devoted to yoga. I have founded a medical trust that runs three institutes, one of which is a yoga and naturopathy centre. Swami Ramdev has made yoga a mass movement. PM Modi did his bit in getting the United Nations declare an International Yoga Day.

Yoga and moral education should be made compulsory subjects from Class I. Our new generation is becoming deprived of sanskars (traditions). New technology, especially cellphones, have given birth to a new ego, mujhe pata hai (I know this).

How are your literary activities going on?

Ab lagbhag nahin (Almost none, these days). I managed to write during my difficult political life. I had gone to jail when I was 19. I wrote even there. Maine likha, kabhi jail mein, kabhi rail mein, kabhi chunaav ki dhakampel mein (I wrote, sometimes in jail, sometimes on trains, sometimes during hectic election campaigns).

I’ve so far published 20 books. My wife had published 16. Together, we have given 36 books to Hindi literature. Sometimes, I wonder how we managed to write so much. One day, I brought my wife to my study, pointed to our collection of books, and asked her, “Santosh, hum itna kaise likh gaye (how could we write so much)?” It reduced us both to tears.

We could write so much because we had similar tastes and had surrendered ourselves to each other. We used to encourage each other and used to be each other’s readers.

Ours was a love marriage. I pursued a degree in law from Delhi, and then taught at a school in Gandhinagar. She was also there. That is where we came to know each other and came closer—for the rest of our lives.

Ab uske bina (without her)…