Himachal: In battleground Dehra, ex-minister queers pitch for BJP

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, July 7

The BJP is making a last-ditch effort to pacify its disgruntled leaders in hot seat Dehra, due for Assembly bypoll on July 10, the election having turned into a battle of prestige following the entry of Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur.

Hoshiyar Singh, the BJP candidate whose resignation as an Independent legislator necessitated the Dehra byelection, called on party stalwart and former minister Ramesh Dhawala at his residence today.

Though Dhawala welcomed Hoshiyar Singh, he didn’t join the BJP’s campaign. Dhawala was the BJP candidate from Dehra in 2022, but stood third after Hoshiyar Singh and Dr Rajesh Sharma of the Congress. The former minister had openly opposed the ticket to Hoshiyar Singh.

Talking to the media after meeting Hoshiyar Singh, Dhawala claimed the “BJP workers were still unhappy”. “Nobody contacted me when the ticket was allotted to Hoshiyar Singh. The campaign has been underway for a month and when two days after left for voting, he comes to meet me!” said Dhawala, expressing his displeasure.

Dhawala condemned the party high command’s policy of allegedly ignoring ground-level workers and importing leaders from outside. He was all praise for Hoshiyar Singh’s wife, but said the BJP nominee “should be polite to people if he wants to succeed in politics”. “My family and I will vote for the BJP, but others are free to exercise their franchise,” he asserted.

Interestingly, the Congress, in its campaign, has been trying to cash in on the “Dhawala being unhappy” sentiment. Another former BJP minister, Ravinder Ravi, stayed away from the campaign initially, though he gave in after being nudged by the high command. Sources said Ravi had been deputed in Dehra and told to pacify leaders close to him.

Two-term former Independent MLA Hoshiyar Singh is facing a tough challenge from debutant Kamlesh. The Chief Minister has himself taken charge of the campaigning and is camping in the constituency for the past several days, reaching almost every village. Senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur campaigned for three days and will again reach Dehra tomorrow, the last day of canvassing. Former Union Minister and BJP MP from Hamirpur Anurag Thakur and BJP state president Rajiv Bindal too have campaigned in the constituency.