Himachal’s third-richest candidate banks on father’s legacy & ‘Jaanu ki japhi’ in first poll contest

GS Bali, a former transport minister who passed away on October 29 last year, was considered a strong leader of the Congress and a claimant for the chief minister’s post. He was known for leading a faction of leaders against former Congress CM Virbhadra Singh. He died at 67. It is believed that if alive, he would have been the party’s choice for taking over the helm after Virbhadra Singh passed away on July 8, 2021.

“I had never thought of contesting the Assembly election. It was my dream to see my father as the Chief Minister of Himachal. Sadly, God did not will it that way. He would often ask me to concentrate on state politics. I used to tell him that he was handling the state and that I did not need to look at it. But now, I have to look after his constituency, his people,” Raghubir told The Indian Express.

While campaigning in the constituency, Raghubir Singh invokes his late father. He bows and touches the feet of those older than him and hugs them. “This hug is now known as ‘Jaanu ki japhi’. I am getting so much love from the people in my father’s bastion that I am indebted to them,” he said.

The constituency elected Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Kumar over GS Bali by a narrow margin of 1,000 votes in 2017. “He had looked after us. But it was the BJP wave in the state last time and he lost. This time we have to vote for his memory. We will vote for his son. This will be our penance. But we are sad that had Bali ji been alive he would have been a natural successor for Virbhadra Singh and Kangra may have also got a second CM,” said Arun Chaudhary, a resident of Nagrota town.

Raghubir Singh is an AICC general secretary, considered close to former AICC chief Rahul Gandhi. He was co-in-charge of the recent Assembly elections in West Bengal. He began his political career with the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the students’ wing of the Congress, between 1996 and 1998 in Kangra. He was also a part of the NSUI in Bengaluru, when he was in Karnataka’s capital to pursue a hotel management degree.

He was also the general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress in 2004 and remained in office till 2009. In previous elections, Bali has been also part of the party’s parliamentary election committee and publicity committees.

Bali’s net worth is Rs 92 crore. His immovable assets are worth Rs 75 crore. He has movable assets worth Rs 13.06 crore, while his wife owns assets worth Rs 1.57 crore. He owns five cars — a Mercedes M Class, Volkswagen Tiguan, Honda Accord, Tata Hexa, and Tata Nano. He also owns a Hero Splendor motorbike.