BJP, Cong slug it out on first HP CM’s home turf
Dr YS Parmar was first elected to Vidhan Sabha from Pachhad
gaurav.bisht@hindustantimes.com
With by-election in the hill state just nine days away, the contest in the Pachhad assembly segment, home turf of first chief minister (CM) Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar, is turning out to be a battle of nerves between ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Congress.
Dr Parmar was first elected to Vidhan Sabha from the Pachhad assembly segment. Dr Parmar, whose home also falls in the Pachhad segment, was pitted against woman candidate Kalawati, who was contesting as an independent. Of total 10,094, he polled 8,644 votes and went on to become the first CM of HP. The elections were not held in 1957 and 1962 as Himachal became a Union Territory sans legislative assembly. In 1967 elections, Dr Parmar had to change his base to Sri Renukaji after Pachhad was reserved for Schedule Caste (SC).
The Congress party is trying cash in votes on the name of Dr Parmar, who hailed from Chanhalag, near Bagthan in the Sirmaur district.
Dr Parmar’s son Kush Parmar had remained a five-time legislator. Kush had won elections from Nahan and Poanta Sahib. Kush is the son-in-law of former CM Ram Lal Thakur.
Kush’s son Chetan Parmar had switched to BJP ahead of Vidhan Sabha elections. Congress preferred youth leader Ajay Solanki in the elections.
On Friday, the Congress leaders gathered at Dr Parmar’s house during election campaign at Bagthan. State Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore said, “We all gathered outside Dr Parmar’s house. Parmar ji is an inspiration for all Congress leaders.”
The BJP, on the other hand, described the Congress move as opportunistic. Dr Parmar’s grandson and BJP’s Sirmaur district vice-president Chetan Parmar said, “Congress ignored Dr Parmar’s family all these years. Whenever there are elections, Congress begins to harp on his name.”
Meanwhile, caught in a triangular contest in Pachhad, BJP and Congress are leaving no stone unturned to win the election, necessitated after the former MLA Suresh Kashyap was elected to Lok Sabha.
Congress has once again fielded its veteran leader Gangu Ram Musafir, who represented Pachhad seven times in a row. He was first elected to Vidhan Sabha in 1982 as an independent.
BJP breached this Congress fortress in 2012 when Suresh Kashyap defeated Musafir. In 2017 Musafir again lost to Kashyap. In a hope to turn the tide in his favour, Musafir is now seeking votes terming it his last election to garner the sympathy votes. Confident of a division of votes in the BJP cadres due to rebellion, Congress is hoping to win its stronghold back.
On the other hand, BJP candidate Reena Kashyap is a political green-horn, who remained a Zila Parishad member once and at present is a member of party’s state executive. She was a surprise choice given the fact that the BJP had more popular faces in the constituency.
The BJP picking her up for such a crucial election also led to a rebellion in the party with youth leader Ashish Sikta and former Zila Parishad member Dayal Payari filing their nominations as independent.Though Sikta withdrew his nominations, Dayal Payari stayed in the fray despite intervention of the CM making the contest triangular.
The ruling party has deployed an army of leaders in Pachhad. Many ministers are also camping in the constituency.