Amid Himachal Pradesh political crisis, spotlight again on ‘kingmaker’ Kangra district
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TNR Desk
The path to the power corridors of Shimla goes through Kangra — the popular political adage seems to be coming true again as the ruling Congress leadership in Himachal Pradesh has been touring the district like never before in its around 15-month reign while the BJP is finding it tough to choose a Lok Sabha candidate due to the problem of plenty.
Having faced allegations of ignoring Kangra in allocation of ministries, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has been for the past few days daily touring the district, wooing the voters ahead of the General Election. While Chief Minister Sukhu’s predecessors would always allot at least three ministries to Kangra, he decided to tread differently under his “Vyavastha Parivartan (system change)” strategy.
The Congress won 10 of the 15 seats in Kangra district in 2022 while only one minister, Jawali MLA Chander Kumar who was given agriculture portfolio, was appointed initially. Yadvinder Goma, MLA from Jaisinghpur reserved segment, was inducted in the cabinet in December 2023.
Disqualified Congress MLA from Dharamshala Sudhir Sharma, who is leading the rebellion against the Sukhu government and caused much embarrassment to CM Sukhu after the party’s loss in the Rajya Sabha election, too was a ministerial post contender, but was ignored.
“Disgruntled, he aired his resentment on several occasions but the Congress chose to neglect him. Instead, Sudhir’s protégé Goma for picked for a ministry, causing much heartburn to the four-term Dharamshala MLA who also remained a minister during the late Virbhadra Singh regime,” says an analyst.
At a gathering in Palampur on Thursday (March 14, 2024), Chief Minister Sukhu, without naming Sudhir, for the first time said that a party MLA from Kangra was solely responsible for the troubles his government was currently facing. In the same breath, he, however, said his government would last its full five-year term.
For the BJP, deciding the Kangra Lok Sabha candidate has been proving to be a tough task as the party has numerous contenders. The BJP could even consider fielding Sudhir, should the outcome of petition filed in the Supreme Court by Sudhir and five other rebel Congress MLAs favour the saffron party.
