Congress no threat to Dhumal in Hamirpur

Pratibha Chauhan

With there being complete uncertainty over his own political fortunes, Leader of Opposition and BJP's most prominent face Prem Kumar Dhumal (73) will be seeking re-nomination from the Hamirpur Assembly segment. 

With there being no clear indications as to who will be the Chief Minister in case the BJP is voted to power,  the two-time Chief Minister will not just be contesting from his own Assembly segment but will be the party's star campaigner, considering his stature and popularity in every nook and corner of the state. 

Being the Assembly segments of two-time Chief Minister, Hamirpur and Bamsan from where Dhumal contested prior to delimitation in 2012 have witnessed unprecedented development. Being the front-runner for the CM’s post Dhumal is unlikely to face any serious threat from the Congress.

While there is no challenge to Dhumal's candidature from the BJP, the Congress on the other hand is a divided house with several claimants to the ticket. Narinder Thakur, the Congress candidate in the 2012 polls, returned to the BJP and later contested the by-poll from Sujanpur successfully. Main contenders for Congress ticket include former MLA and Minister Anita Verma and former MLA Kuldeep Pathania (56) .Verma (63) won for the first time in a bypoll in May 1994 on the demise of Jagdev Chand and was again elected to the Assembly in 2003. Pathania had won the 1993 Assembly election from Bamsan segment, parts of which now fall in the Hamirpur constituency. 

The names of Dr Pushpender Verma, a doctor and son of former minister Ranjit Singh Verma, and Vinod Thakur, BJP's former state secretary, who joined the Congress recently, are also doing the rounds. Congress will make nepotism an issue in the polls to hit out at the Dhumal family. 

"When the BJP made an exception for Ananadi Ben in Gujarat, we are confident that Dhumal ji will be made chief minister even if it for two years till he turns 75," says an optimistic Sanjeev Thakur, who runs a stone crusher on the outskirts of Hamirpur town. Even as most voters are quite uncertain whether Dhumal will get the CM's chair for the third time, his detractors feel that he should be the party's face in the polls due to his mass appeal.

Known as a "Money Order Economy" because of the large number of persons from the district serving in the armed forces, the need for economic avenues is being felt. Though every house has at least one member serving in the forces, rising unemployment is an issue. 

Having emerged as an educational hub with several premier institutes like the NIT and Hotel Management Institute, one can find qualified youth in and around the town. "Though we can now pursue courses of our choice here close to our home, till jobs are not created it is of little use as a huge contingent of unemployed youth is swelling," says Sunil Sharma from Didma Tikkar village. There are several others like him who are frustrated for the want of a job. "I have appeared for exams for several jobs like conductor, Kangra Central Cooperative Bank (KCCB) and police, but each time the selections are challenged in court and we keep waiting for the results," says Ashish Kumar (22) from Kehrdu village under Dharog panchayat. 

Being the constituency of two-time Chief Minister, the segment has an excellent road network and almost all government offices, but unemployment is proving to be a big issue. Had it not been for jobs in the Army, the Hamirpur area with no industry and tourism potential could have fared even worse. 

The BJP will also try to encash on the delay in starting of the Hamirpur medical college despite two others at Chamba and Nahan announced together becoming functional. The BJP will also accuse the Congress regime of ignoring the segment on regional considerations and for the fact that it is the home segment of the former CM and Leader of Opposition. 

Edu hub yes, but unemployment swelling

Having emerged as an educational hub with several premier institutes like NIT and Hotel Management Institute, one can find well-qualified youth in and around the town. "Though we can now pursue courses of our choice here close to our home, it is of little use till jobs are not created as a number of unemployed youth is swelling," says Sunil Sharma from village Didma Tikkar. There are several others like him who are frustrated for the want of a job. Had it not been for jobs in the Army, the Hamirpur area with no industry and tourism potential could have fared even worse.