Resentment sweeps across Sundernagar, Karsog

Kuldeep Chauhan

The main grouse of voters in Sundernagar is that rather than developing Sundernagar as an education hub, the area has become a cement plant region, which has spelt doom in the Slappar, Dehar and Barmana areas, making the life of locals miserable. 

Voters there have kept their cards close to their chest, giving sleepless nights to both Congress and BJP candidates. Residents of Sundernagar, the civic body of which is ruled by the Congress, opposed the proposed cement plant, though its fate is to be decided by the Supreme Court.

Farmers demanded that the parties should have a clear-cut agenda of protecting crops from monkeys and stray cattle, which has caused huge losses to them. 

Now, it remains to be seen whether it will once again be a triangular contest like in the 2012 polls when former BJP minister Roop Singh Thakur had jumped into the fray as an Independent, polling 15,129 votes or he will toe the party line and not contest even if denied the ticket. The main contenders for the party ticket include Rakesh Jamwal and Ajay Rama. Having been a seven-time MLA from Sundernagar, Thakur has a good hold in certain segments of the constituency. 

In case, it is a triangular contest, Sohan Lal Thakur, Chief Parliamentary Secretary and two-time Congress legislator, enjoys an edge over the BJP candidate. There is also a local lawyer, Arun Arya, who has sought the Congress ticket from Sundernagar, but Sohan Lal is firmly entrenched in the party after he took over the legacy of his brother Sher Singh, one-time Congress legislator, after his death. 

The BJP no doubt has repatriated all Shanta Kumar's loyalists, including Roop Singh, who among others had rebelled against the then Chief Minister, PK Dhumal, and left the party before the 2012 Vidhan Sabha polls. He contested as an Independent and marred the chances of BJP nominee Rakesh Jamwal, a young Sangh-backed leader, who was placed at the third place.

But this time too, political bickering has intensified as Roop Singh (69) is seeking ticket for himself or his son Abhishek. But Roop Singh, who was the Forest Minister during Shanta's regime in 1990-1993, could not deliver much and locals still blame him for denying TD timber depot in Sundernagar.

Sohan Lal, a hotelier and social worker, is accessible and is banking on development works the party has done here in the last five years, including containing the monkey menace through sterilisation. The 12-member Sundernagar Municipal Council is also ruled by the Congress.

However, the residents rue poor health services and bus connectivity in Patwara, Serikhota and Jaral.

Another grudge among the youth in this area is unemployment. "We were told that we will get jobs in three big projects — Kol Dam, ACC cement factory and the Beas Sutlej link. But they brought only misery and pollution," said Jai Shri Ram of the Slappar Yuvak Mandal. 

Karsog

Voters want Tattapani hot springs revived 

Karsog, a reserved and hilly constituency, has been dominated by 'Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram’ of local politics — Mansa Ram, Mast Ram and Hira Lal — over the years. The main issue against the sitting Congress candidate  Mansa Ram, a five-time legislator, who has changed parties several times since 1967, is his changing loyalties. He is seeking the Congress ticket either for himself or for his son Mahesh Raj. He had contested once from the BJP and once from Sukh Ram's party Himachal Vikas Congress, the party which later merged with the Congress. Another two-time MLA Mast Ram is also in the race for the Congress ticket and may mar the party's chance if he contests independently, if denied ticket. On the other hand, two retired government servants — Jagat Ram and Bhagat Ram Byas — are also seeking the BJP ticket from Karsog. But former BJP MLA Hira Lal remains the main contender. The voters here too are upset with the  BJP and Congress over their failure to provide doctors and improve link roads. Another grouse of the voters is that the government a has done a little to revive the hot springs of Tattapani.