Kasauli rejoices MLA’s elevation

Ambika Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Solan, December 27

The elevation of Kasauli MLA Rajiv Saizal to a state minister has cheered the party workers of his constituency. This is the first time that the BJP has given a ministerial berth to this constituency.

Kasauli was among the two seats won by the BJP in Solan district, which has five seats. Solan’s gain is Sirmaur district's loss, which despite having three BJP MLAs as compared to two in Solan, has failed to get a minister.

BJP’s sitting MLA from Nalagarh KL Thakur lost his seat, while the third sitting MLA from Arki was denied a party ticket. Being a first-timer, Parminder Singh, who won the Doon seat, had little chance of getting a ministerial berth. Saizal was the only choice given his seniority, although uncertainty prevailed over his elevation till late last evening.

The Congress had earlier given a ministerial berth to its Kasauli MLA Raghu Raj. Although the BJP has won this seat four times since 1977, this is the first time that the party has elevated an MLA to the status of a minister.

Having won the seat for the third consecutive term, Saizal is the only senior-most MLA from Solan district, and he is the only one who managed to retain the seat in the district. He enjoys a clean image and is the only minister from the SC category who was sworn-in today.

State Secretary Daisy Thakur said the constituency had largely remained ignored during the Congress tenure.

On the other hand, Sirmaur district has failed to get a ministerial berth yet again, though its five-term MLA from Nahan Rajiv Bindal was tipped to be the Speaker. His candidature was stiffly opposed by a section of party leaders owing to a corruption case against him.

Congress’ seven-time MLA from the Pacchad constituency Gangu Ram Musafir remained the Speaker in the party’s previous tenure of 2003. He had also occupied various ministerial berths during his tenures.

MLAs from Sirmaur district have had also failed to get elevation as ministers in successive governments since 1998. But party MLAs were given the berths of chief parliamentary secretaries in the past. BJP’s three-time MLA from Paonta Sahib Sukhram Chawdhary, who had earlier remained a Chief Parliamentary Secretary, was hopeful of receiving the same honour once again.