MANDI BREAKS THE NOCM JINX AT LAST

DHARAMSHALA: Despite Mandi district having produced some highprofile leaders, none was able to reach to the post of chief minister of Himachal Pradesh.

Until Jai Ram Thakur, the four-time MLA from Seraj, came along and broke the jinx. He won the seat for the fifth time on the trot in the recently held polls.

Mandi, the second-most politically significant district after Kangra, has 10 seats in the 68-member house. BJP won 9.

The hill state’s first CM, Yashwant Singh Parmar (Congress), hailed from Sirmour, while Shimla has given the state two chief ministers, Ram Lal Thakur and Virbhadra Singh (both Congress). Shanta Kumar (BJP) belonged to Kangra while Prem Kumar Dhumal (BJP), who served two terms as chief minister, comes from Hamirpur.

It is not that leaders from Mandi never tried their luck. Congress strongman Karam Singh Thakur had posed challenge to Parmar in 1972. But a closed-door meeting held before the formation of the government saw Thakur coming out with a changed mind, and announcing Parmar’s name for the post.

Congress veteran Sukh Ram’s name was almost declared for the post after the party won the election in 1993. However, Rajput leaders openly defied the stand and threatened to revolt if Virbhadra was not made the CM. Two big leaders from Mandi, Kaul Singh Thakur and Rangila Ram Rao, also sided with Singh.

It was not an easy walk for Jai Ram to break the Mandi jinx. Former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, despite losing election from his Sujanpur seat, was in the race until he decided to back out.