Greenhorns in Bhoranj, old foes square off in Barsar

Dinesh Kanwar

The stage is set for an interesting contest in the reserved constituency of Bhoranj with both the Congress and the BJP deciding to introduce new faces with a clean slate in a traditional BJP bastion.

In what has come as a surprise to most, the BJP has decided to field a new candidate, Kamlesh Kumari rather than the six-month-old sitting MLA Dr Anil Dhiman, who had won in the by-poll held after the demise of ID Dhiman, former Education Minister. Dhiman, a six-time MLA was widely respected and enjoyed impeccable image and the BJP chose to field his son to encash on the sympathy factor in the b y-poll. 

However, the party seems to have had a change of mind in view of the allegation of dynastic politics, which the Congress raked up when Dr Anil Dhiman was fielded as his father's political successor. Dr Dhiman had won by a margin of 8,500 in the by-poll by defeating Parmila Devi of the Congress from this reserved constituency. Kamlesh is a popular face who is a former Zila Parishad Member and strong at the grass root level. 

The Bhoranj segment has seen remarkable development on all fronts, including the highest road density in Asia, educational institutions, health facilities and water supply schemes in the last over three decades. The credit for development is shared by both the political parties as most of the administrative units were established during Congress regime, including some sub tehsils and even SDM office. 

The major issues are related to farmers on account of monkey menace and problem of stray cattle that destroys the crops. Mewa area had experienced flash floods in the recent monsoons but despite political assurances many have yet to get claims.

Rajesh Sharma, a resident of Garsar village, said that leaders promised to channelize the Seer, Nagrota and Kunah khuds but nothing was done. Last year the school building and many houses were washed away by the floods but the condition of the area remained same, he added. 

Rajesh Rangra, who runs a general store in Tarkwari, said some colleges and a private university had come up in the area but without there were hardly any job avenues.

The Congress has not been able to wrest the seat from BJP since it won for the first time in 1990. Dhiman won the seat six consecutive times while his son won only once.  The last time when the segment had a Congress MLA was Dharam Singh Chaudhary till 1990. The Congress still remains divided and the party has now fielded Suresh Kumar, a Sukhu loyalist who too could face undercutting from his own party men.  

BARSAR CONSTITUENCY 

It will once again be a fight between traditional rivals - Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Inder Dutt Lakhanpal and former BJP MLA Baldev Sharma in the reserved constituency of Barsar.

Lakhanpal, a staunch Virbhadra loyalist, has managed to get a lot of development works done in the last five years. Major development works that were completed or were nearing completion included an industrial area, upgrade of health institutions and installation of hand pumps in almost all the villages of the constituency, providing much needed relief from acute scarcity in the summer months.  Creation of a revenue Sub Tehsil at Bhota will also benefit the Congress. 

However, the fact that the BJP has so far not projected Dhumal as its chief ministerial candidate could dampen the chances of BJP candidate.  Interestingly, it will be the vote share of independent candidate Sita Ram Bhardwaj, which could determine the fortune of the two parties. 

The recent visits of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, making several announcements, had strengthened Lakhanpal's chances. The other major factor would be the polite and dignified behavior of Lakhanpal in sharp contrast to his BJP nominee. The constituency was represented by the BJP from 1998 to 2012 with Baldev Sharma winning it thrice while Lakhanpal won the election in 2012 with margin of 2658 votes.

Surprise choice

• In what has come as a surprise to most, the BJP has decided to field a new candidate, Kamlesh Kumari rather than the six-month-old sitting MLA Dr Anil Dhiman, who had won in the by-poll held after the demise of ID Dhiman, former Education Minister. Dhiman, a six-time MLA, was widely respected and enjoyed impeccable image and the BJP chose to field his son to encash on the sympathy factor in the b y-poll. 
• The party seems to have had a change of mind in view of the allegation of dynastic politics.

Development works

• Lakhanpal, a staunch Virbhadra loyalist, has managed to get a lot of development works done in the last five years. Major development works that were completed or were nearing completion included an industrial area, upgrade of health institutions and installation of hand pumps in almost all the villages of the constituency.  Creation of a revenue Sub Tehsil at Bhota will also benefit the Congress. 
• However, the fact that the BJP has so far not projected Dhumal as its chief ministerial candidate could dampen the chances of BJP candidate.