Harsh Mahajan only 2nd leader from Chamba to enter Parliament

Naresh Thakur

Tribune News Network

Chamba, February 28

BJP leader Harsh Mahajan, who in a major upset defeated Congress’ Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the Rajya Sabha election in Himachal, will be only the second leader from Chamba district to reach Parliament.

FACTFILE

• Harsh Mahajan is the son of former Assembly Speaker Desh Raj Majahan
• He was first elected to the Himachal Assembly from Chamba in 1993
• Later, he won the Assembly elections in 1998 and 2003
• He served as Animal Husbandry Minister in the Virbhadra Singh government from 2003 to 2007 and the Chairman of HP State Cooperative Bank from 2012 to 2017
• Before 2022 Assembly poll, Mahajan parted ways with the Congress and joined the BJP

Amid cross-voting by six Congress MLAs, Mahajan and Singhvi both polled 34 votes each. Mahajan, who had left the Congress to join the BJP before the 2022 Assembly elections, won the election through a draw of lots.

Mahajan’s victory not only marks a political upheaval in the politics of the state, but also sets a milestone as he became the first leader from Chamba to enter the Rajya Sabha and only the second leader from this rural district to reach Parliament after a gap of 57 years.

His victory also has historical significance as he follows in the footsteps of Lala Chattar Singh Barotra, who represented Chamba in the Lok Sabha from 1962 to 1967. Chamba was a parliamentary constituency before the hilly areas of Punjab were merged in Himachal Pradesh in 1966.

Barotra’s legacy as a parliamentarian is revered in the region and Mahajan’s win adds another chapter to Chamba’s parliamentary history.

Born in Chamba on December 12, 1955, Mahajan is the son of former Assembly Speaker and minister Desh Raj Majahan. A graduate in business administration, Mahajan served as the president of the Pradesh Youth Congress. He was first elected to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly from Chamba in 1993. Later, he won the Assembly elections in 1998 and 2003.

Mahajan was a close confidant of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh . Just before the 2022 Assembly elections, Mahajan parted ways with the Congress after differences with the state leadership and joined the BJP. He, however, could not make much impact as the Congress won the Chamba seat. The BJP fielded him for the lone Rajya Sabha seat and he turned the tables on the Congress.