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BJP’s Anurag Thakur is fighting to save his political clout after losing cricketing clout

Anurag Thakur, BJP’s last dynast in Himachal, faces his toughest test amid chorus against dynastic politics & his father's loss in assembly polls.

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Shimla: When three-time BJP MP Anurag Thakur, 44, made his debut in electoral politics, contesting a Lok Sabha bypoll from Hamirpur in 2008, the odds were stacked in his favour.

His father, Prem Kumar Dhumal, had just become the chief minister after he led the BJP to victory for a record-breaking second time in the 2007 assembly polls. The bypoll itself had been necessitated by the older Dhumal’s resignation, leaving Anurag as an obvious choice for the ticket.

There were murmurs against dynastic politics but they too died out gradually as the chief minister wielded considerable influence. Vitally, Thakur’s candidature had the backing of the BJP top brass.

He was also not an unknown entity. As the head of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), Thakur was instrumental in building the picturesque cricket stadium at Dharamshala, a ground that has since received rave reviews.

Over a decade on, however, the three-time MP, more well-known for his association with cricket, finds himself on a sticky wicket. At stake for Thakur in these Lok Sabha elections is not just his own political future but that of his father’s as well.

For one, it has not even been smooth sailing in cricket in the past five years. Thakur rose to become the BCCI president in 2016 but his term in the coveted post ended rather unceremoniously. The Supreme Court ordered his removal in 2017 holding him prima facie guilty of “contempt of court” and “perjury”.


Also read: Family or me? Modi’s dynasty diatribe has left these top politicians in a spot


Himachal’s only dynast these polls

Of the four Lok Sabha candidates in Himachal, Thakur is the only dynast that the BJP has awarded a ticket — the other three candidates are Krishan Kapoor, a cabinet minister fielded from Kangra, Suresh Kashyap, an ex-serviceman and two-time MLA, from Shimla (Reserve) and Ram Swaroop Sharma, the sitting MP from Mandi.

The party had denied former chief minister Shanta Kumar, 84, a ticket from Kangra, his pocket borough.

The BJP’s decision comes on the back of the 2017 assembly polls when the party awarded just one ticket, of the 68 in the state, to a dynast. Anil Sharma, son of former telecom minister Sukh Ram, was fielded from Mandi (Sadar). He got elected and has been inducted as a cabinet minister.

Through the years, the BJP has refused tickets to several family members of its leaders as a chorus has grown within the party against dynastic politics. Most famously, it denied a ticket to Anil Dhiman, the sitting MLA from Bhoranj in Hamirpur in 2017. Dhiman is the son of BJP veteran and former education minister, the late I.D. Dhiman.

The chorus now threatens the Dhumals, especially after Prem Kumar Dhumal lost in the 2017 assembly elections despite being the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate. The defeat also came at a time when Dhumal had fancied his chances for a third stint as chief minister. He had chosen to contest from Sujanpur, a new assembly constituency that falls under the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat.

Following the defeat, the BJP handed over the chief minister’s chair to Jai Ram Thakur, who at 54 is two decades younger than the 74-year-old Dhumal.

Amid speculation of a clear-cut generational change in the state, the Dhumals have all to play for in Hamirpur. A defeat here will expose the family to new risks, and thus it is taking no chances.

“Once beaten twice shy,” says Sanjeev Katwal, a staunch Dhumal loyalist, describing how the family is viewing the Lok Sabha polls. “The poll campaign will be extensively cohesive, fully mapped, and well-coordinated with zero-error.”

Campaigning in full swing

The import of the election is not lost on the Dhumals. Thakur, who had been accused of being disconnected with voters, is also showing a drastic change in his outreach and behaviour. He has extensively toured the constituency — twice during the past few months.

Dhumal too hasn’t spared a day, touring Hamirpur and meeting voters. After his defeat at Sujanpur, he has confined himself to Hamirpur in the past year solely focussed on the Lok Sabha polls.

As the constituency has a large number of people serving in the Army and paramilitary forces, besides a sizeable population of ex-servicemen, Thakur has been relying on the nationalism card, playing up the Balakot air strikes and the Prime Minister’s “dealing of external threats”.

What works in his favour is the Mobile (Sansad) Hospital Sewa, a scheme Thakur launched in 2018 to provide medical care to the poor at their doorstep. The scheme has been a success as Thakur himself oversees it twice a week.

Another factor is that the Congress has been unable to decide on a candidate as many potential leaders are not ready to contest. The opposition, however, accuses Thakur of failing to deliver on promises.

“His high-profile style of working and conduct as BCCI president will definitely be poll issues,” says Mukesh Agnihotri, the Leader of Opposition in the Himachal assembly.


Also read: By choosing Modi & Yogi’s turf, Priyanka signals she’s a dynast with a difference


 

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