Dhumal’s defeat, RSS background, caste worked for him
SHIMLA: Success in politics did not come easy for Jai Ram Thakur, who made his electoral debut in the assembly at the age of 33. He entered politics in the early nineties when he joined the right wing Rashtriya Sweyamsewak Sangh, and later the student outfit Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(abvp). But it took more than two decades for him to make it to the most coveted position in the state—the chief minister’s chair. Here are the things that swung in favour of the 52-year-old leader.
DHUMAL’S DEFEAT
Union health minister Jagat Parkash Nadda was being considered the front-runner for the post. Nadda, who has the ears of the party’s national president Amit Shah, was seen as the party’s obvious choice for the top job. However, fearing defeat, the party changed its game plan during elections and ten days ahead of the polling day, projected Prem Kumar Dhumal as its CM face.
The party won 44 of the total 68 seats but Dhumal and state party chief Satpal Singh Satti's suffered an unexpected defeat from their respective constituencies, forcing the party to ponder over its next chief ministerial candidate.
Jai Ram Thakur emerged as the front-runner along with health minister Jagat Parkash Nadda, while the names of another senior legislator Suresh Bhardwaj did the rounds.
RSS BACKGROUND
What really turned things in favour of Thakur is seemingly his strong RSS background. Thakur had also served as the organisational secretary of Jammu and Kashmir in 1990.The sangh favoured Thakur and had overtly conveyed its choice. Jai Ram, a five-time legislator also enjoys a personal rapport with PM Modi.
YOUNG FACE
The 52-year-old leader’s age also went in his favour as the saffron party was looking for a young face in the state who could lead the party for a longer tenure.
MASSIVE MANDATE FROM MANDI
The massive mandate to the saffron party in Mandi district was one of the things that went in Jai Ram’s favour. The BJP won nine out of the ten seats. In Mandi, the party secured 13 seats. Former telecom minister Sukhram and his son, former rural development minister Anil Sharma’s switching over to BJP also favoured the party.
UPPER CASTE’S DOMINANCE
The politics in the hill state has been dominated by upper castes— Rajput and Brahmins— who have a large vote share in the state. They were in favour of Thakur. The Rajput community has been dominating Himachal Pradesh politics since the first elections in 1965. Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar, the first CM of the state who ruled for four consecutive terms, was also a Rajput. Out of the five CMS that Himachal has seen, four were Rajputs.
Virbhadra Singh, who has served six terms and 22 years, is a Rajput. Thakur Ram Lal and Prem Kumar Dhumal too belong to this community.
BJP’S Shanta Kumar, who led the state twice from 1977 to 1980 and 1990 to 1992, was the only Brahmin to reach this post. Rajputs have a considerable population in almost all assembly segments and a stronghold over Mandi, Shimla, Kullu, Hamirpur and parts of Kangra. Rajput comprises 37.5% of the population in Himachal.