‘Don’t see AAP as a threat to BJP... it’s disintegrating’

Elections to the 68-member Himachal Pradesh assembly are due later this year, but the normally placid political climate of the hill state has lately been stirred by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s ambition, fuelled by its resounding victory in Punjab, to disrupt the state’s entrenched bipolar polity dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.

In a wide-ranging interview with on Tuesday, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur was poised and passionate in turns as he spoke to Ramesh Vinayak on the AAP challenge, dwelt at length on his report card, and explained why his party would return to power. Edited excerpts:

What is your sense on the current political landscape of Himachal Pradesh?

We are already into the election year. This has coincided with the BJP’s resounding victory last month in four state assembly elections, which is a big morale booster for our party cadres. Notably, the BJP was already in power in these states and again got the mandate... This has made us confident.

The Congress got a little boost with its victory in the four by-elections (one Lok Sabha and three assembly) in Himachal Pradesh last year. The results didn’t favour us. The Congress had a government in Punjab and was confident it would be able to win Uttarakhand. But it lost both states badly. So, it will not be easy for them. As far as AAP’s ambition here is concerned, I don’t see the party as a threat to the BJP because it neither has leadership, nor the organisational network on ground.

But, the AAP, buoyed by its emphatic triumph in Punjab, is making a determined foray into Himachal.

Their (AAP’s) homework in Punjab started long ago. Before the 2022 assembly elections, they already had a sizeable number of MPs and MLAs. Over the past eight years, they built and strengthened their grassroots reach. They benefitted from Punjab’s political circumstances... But Himachal is a different ballgame. Here, the basic character of politics has long been dominated by the BJP and the Congress. The third party has never found favour with people...

Even Punjab had a 2-party system for long.

Our people’s thinking doesn’t favour the third option. By nature, they don’t waste their vote on an option other than the BJP or Congress... AAP tried to gain a foothold in Himachal... look at how those who set up AAP here deserted them. Their state president and head of the women’s cell joined the BJP.

Your party lost all four bypolls last year. What lesson has your party learnt?

Virbhadra Singhji was the tallest leader of the Congress. These bypolls came soon after he passed away. So sympathy was a big factor. Our cadres became overconfident... There were gaps in ground-level strategy, which have been addressed.

What do you count as major pluses in your government’s report card?

I made a clean break from the politics of vendetta, which for long was perpetuated in a revengeful cycle of (new governments) filing criminal cases (against the old ones)... I was clear and determined from Day 1 not to waste my time and energy fixing rivals; I focused on development. We are close to completing our term and there has not been a single serious allegation of corruption... We tried to run politics and government in line with Himachal’s ethos of ‘dev bhoomi (Abode of gods)’.

How has Himachal benefitted from BJP’s ‘double engine’ government credo?

All our projects that needed central approval and funds got full cooperation... In all, we got external aided projects worth ₹1,000 crore, which is a big deal for a small state. Plus, ₹800 crore was sanctioned as special assistance... A big-ticket project on a greenfield international airport at Mandi is moving fast and we will soon sign a joint venture with AAI.

How has your government mobilised internal resources with the state’s debt burden at ₹62,500 crore?

Almost all states are facing a debt burden. During the previous Congress regime, loan limits were exhausted. But our government has availed ₹5,000 crore less than the limit so far. We have to raise loans to repay the outstanding debt and interest. Managing finances became a challenge due to the Covid emergency... But we have not allowed it impact critical projects.

Your party had promised a 70% job quota for locals in the private sector. Why have you not brought a legislation to ensure this?

We are doing that through a policy decision rather than a legal mechanism... Our focus on ease of doing business has shown results. Today, the state is at the 7th rank as compared to the 16th five years ago on the ease of doing business index.

What will be your priorities in the next six months?

Bolstering public contact and time-bound completion of development projects.