Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election 2017: Prem Kumar Dhumal is BJP's shining light in the hills

In poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, Prem Kumar Dhumal will be the face of the BJP’s campaign.

Dhumal is a senior party leader and a two-time chief minister of the hill state.

Himachal has traditionally always voted in favour of anti-incumbency and has seen power alternate between Congress and BJP governments for the last five terms.

If the state votes in favour of anti-incumbency for a sixth straight time, as is widely expected, Dhumal would be on his way to clinching a third term as chief minister.

Until last week, however, confusion reigned about who would be named the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate.

But against the backdrop of widespread speculation that the party would consider the idea of projecting Union minister JP Nadda as its chief ministerial candidate, Dhumal’s name was announced by his son, BJP MP Anurag Thakur, who claimed his father’s name had been agreed upon well in advance.

“There was confusion among the cadre and voters as to who would lead BJP because various stories appeared in the media. Names of those not even in the race had cropped up. By declaring a chief minister face, the party leadership has cleared the confusion,” Thakur was quoted as saying.

Breaking from tradition

Speaking about why the BJP changed its strategy and announced a chief ministerial face in Himachal ahead of polls, Dhumal said, “In small states, people like to know the face with whom to interact later on. Everybody wants to have direct contact with the chief minister. The Himachal election has always been fought by projecting a face.”

Dhumal was earlier chief minister from 2007 to 2013 before being deposed by Virbhadra Singh. He was quoted as saying that restoration of law and order would be his priority and not revenge. “There will be no revenge. We will like to devote our time for the development of the state. We will focus on restoring democracy and values for which the government is elected. Law and order will be established so that the drug mafia, mining mafia and all these mafias are controlled,” Dhumal said.

Dhumal contested from Hamirpur in 2012 but this time he is contesting from Sujanpur constituency where women outnumber men by over 2, 200 voters. He said safety and security will be his main priorities.

“Safety, security and self-respect of the people are the main responsibilities of any government. In the last five years, the law and order has collapsed and the anti-social elements are dominant,” he said.

Attacking the incumbent government of Virbhadra Singh, he called the Congress party’s poll manifesto a “laundry list”. “Congress has proposed a laundry list of baseless promises as part of their manifesto for the upcoming elections. But they have not realised that they have proposed most of the things they could not fulfil during their five-year tenure. Despite not fulfilling their poll promises, the Congress has yet again come up with the same points, just to make the manifesto look comprehensive,” Dhumal said.

“In the manifesto, the Congress promised to build a women’s  hostel at district and sub-divisional quarters, without mentioning the condition of the existing women’s hostels which they could not maintain, although they were constructed with the central government grant,” he added.

Who is Dhumal

Born on 10 April, 1944, the former chief minister did his MA and LLB from Doaba College in Jalandhar and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar respectively. He has also been a teacher and agriculturist. Dhumal is also associated with various social organisations such as Bharat Vikas Parishad, Vivekanand Memorial Society and Himachal Hitkarini Sabha.

However, at 73, his age is considered to be a negative mark in his column as it’s just two short of the BJP’s disqualification limit of 75. When asked about this, Dhumal said he will cross the river when he gets there.

Indeed, the party has high hopes from Dhumal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said his rich administrative experience means Dhumal would make for a “ wonderful CM ”. “Dhumal_ji_ is among our seniormost leaders with a rich administrative experience in Himachal. BJP’s focus is politics of development. We want to make Himachal corruption-free and initiate record development initiatives in the state,” Modi said.

Other than his vast experience and a two-time stint in the chief minister’s chair in Shimla, Dhumal also checks the caste box for the party.

As reported on CNN-News18 , caste still plays a major role in Himachal Pradesh politics, where socially-dominant Brahmins and Rajputs are vying for power. The article added that because of politics within parties in Himachal Pradesh, both Congress and BJP have been projecting one Brahmin and one Rajput face. And for the BJP, these names are Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal.

Congress unfazed

The Congress said it was unfazed by Dhumal’s elevation to the chief ministerial position, and also with his views on corruption. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said, “Dhumal_ji_, your remarks on BJP’s supposed fight against corruption made me laugh. Last time, I saw your own sons were out on bail.”

Congress leader Sachin Pilot also hit out at Dhumal, saying the party projected him because  Modi’s charisma was fading .

“The BJP had to change its strategy midway and was forced to project Prem Kumar Dhumal, while the Congress is always confident of its chief ministerial candidate Virbhadra Singh, who is a mass and determined leader,” he told reporters. “The BJP withdrew Modi’s face because of fear. We are banking on development, which was unprecedented, in the state that our party ensured in the past five years of its rule,” he said.

With inputs from agencies

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