Himachal Assemby polls: BJP drops 10 MLAs, fields 19 new faces

Bhanu P Lohumi

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Shimla, October 19

The BJP has played a gamble as it dropped 10 of its MLAs and changed the constituencies of two ministers to combat anti-incumbency even as the threat of rebellion loomed large with resentment brewing among aspirants who have been denied the ticket. There are 19 new faces in the first BJP list of 62 candidates that was released today for the November 12 elections to the 68-member Vidhan Sabha.

Cabinet Ministers Suresh Bhardwaj and Rakesh Pathania have been shifted from Shimla Urban and Nurpur to Kasumpti and Fatehpur to accommodate Sanjay Sood (a tea seller) and Ranvir Singh (Nikka). Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh has opted out in favour of his son Rajat Thakur from Dharampur in Mandi. The dropped MLAs are Kamlesh Kumari (Bhoranj, Hamirpur), Jia Lal Singh (Bharmour), Pawan Nayyar (Chamba), Kishori Lal (Anni, Kullu), Subhash Thakur (Bilaspur Sadar); Jawahar Thakur (Darang), Col Inder Singh (retd) (Sarkaghat) and Hira Lal (Karsog), all seats in Mandi district; Vishal Nehria (Dharamsala) and Arjun Singh (Jawali, Kangra).

The BJP has given the ticket to Congress MLAs Pawan Kajal (Kangra Sadar) and Lakhwinder Rana (Nalagarh), besides Independent MLA Prakash Rana (Jogindernagar), all of whom recently joined the party. The fate of another Independent legislator, Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra in Kangra, is hanging in the balance.

Prakash Rana managed to beat former BJP minister Gulab Singh Thakur, father-in-law of Union Minister Anurag Thakur, in the ticket race while Hoshiyar Singh is competing against five-term BJP MLA Ravinder Singh Ravi, a staunch loyalist of ex-CM Prem Kumar Dhumal.

Five women, including minister Sarveen Choudhary (Shahpur), Indira Kapoor (Chamba), Reeta Dhiman (Indora), Reena Kashyap (Pachhad) and Shashi Bala (Rohru), have been included in the list. Eleven ticket have been given to Schedule Caste nominees and eight to Schedule Tribe and Other Backward Class candidates.

Anil Sharma, a former minister and the son of ex-Union Minister Sukh Ram who was sidelined after his son Aashray Sharma contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls on the Congress ticket, has been named from Mandi Sadar. Chetan Bragta, son of former BJP minister Narinder Bragta who was expelled after he unsuccessfully contested the Assembly by-election from Jubbal-Kotkhai as an Independent and was readmitted into the party recently, has also been given the ticket. Govind Ram Sharma, two-time MLA from Arki who was denied the ticket in 2017, has staged a comeback from Arki.

Among the new faces are Rakesh Chaudhary (Dharamsala), Sanjay Sood (Shimla Urban), Ravi Mehta (Shimla Rural), Trilok Kapoor (Palampur), Trilok Jamwal (Bilaspur), Sanjay Guleria (Jawali), Ajay Shyam (Theog), Narayan Singh (Sri Renukaji), Dr Janak Raj (Bharmour), Capt Ranjit Singh (retd) (Sujanpur), Dilip Thakur (Sarkaghat), Rajat Thakur (Dharampur), Puran Chand Thakur (Darang), Deepraj Kapoor (Karsog), Lokendra Kumar (Anni) and Ranvir Singh Nikka (Nurpur).

Some former MLAs who lost the elections or were denied the ticket in 2017 are also on the list. Among them are Dr Anil Dhiman (Bhoranj), Vijay Agnihotri (Nadaun), Baldev Singh Tomar (Shillai), Satpal Singh Satti (Una) and Randhir Sharma (Sri Nainadevi).

Sons of minister, ex-minister make it

• Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh opts out in favour of his son Rajat Thakur
• Former minister late Narender Bragta’s son Chetan given the ticket from Jubbal-Kotkhai
• BJP fields 19 new faces, gives the ticket to 11 SCs, 8 ST/OBCs
• 11 ministers have been re-nominated, five women fielded