SPECIAL STORY: Without naming Hamirpur MP, says big leaders failed to deliver
Munish Sood
MANDI: Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday (October 7, 2025) launched a veiled attack on former Union Minister and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, questioning the “electoral impact of big leaders” in the last Assembly elections.
His remarks, delivered at a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) felicitation programme at Seri Manch in Mandi, have set political circles abuzz in Himachal Pradesh.
In his aggressive address, Jai Ram Thakur said, “A leader’s stature should translate into results that benefit the party. But in the last Assembly elections, the presence of big names did not help the BJP in any meaningful way.”
Without naming Anurag Thakur directly, he said, “If influential leaders had delivered in their regions, the BJP would have been in power today.”
He noted that the BJP won only 25 out of 68 Assembly seats, including nine from Mandi district and 12 from the Mandi parliamentary constituency. He emphasised that if similar results had been achieved in other parliamentary areas, particularly those led by prominent leaders, the party might have retained power in the state.
Losses in Hamirpur parliamentary seat and political implications
Jai Ram Thakur’s comments are widely seen as a reference to Anurag Thakur’s home district of Hamirpur where the BJP failed to win even a single seat in the 2022 Assembly elections — a major blow to the party’s prospects. Analysts suggest that this poor performance may also have influenced central leadership decisions, including Anurag’s own exclusion from the Union Cabinet.
Slogans in Mandi rekindle speculation
The remarks came days after Anurag Thakur visited Mandi, where supporters raised slogans such as “Himachal ka Mukhyamantri kaisa ho — Anurag Thakur jaisa ho! (Anurag Thakur deserves to be Himachal’s Chief Minister? These slogans reignited speculation about Anurag Thakur’s possible return to a prominent role in state politics.
However, Anurag Thakur dismissed speculations, stating that he is “a party worker” and that baseless rumours on social media and in the press should stop.
Old rivalries resurface
Political observers say Jai Ram Thakur’s pointed speech reflects underlying tensions within the Jai Ram-Dhumal factional divide in the BJP, which have existed for years. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s earlier remark that the BJP in Himachal is “divided into five factions” now appears reinforced by these developments.
Kangana’s statement adds to buzz
Further adding to the speculation, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, during a recent visit to Mandi, was asked if she could be projected as the party’s chief ministerial face. She replied, “Whatever responsibility the party and Prime Minister Modi give me, I will fulfill it.”
Jai Ram Thakur’s strong remarks are being seen as both a warning and an expression of frustration after the party’s poor electoral performance and the changing political equations in Himachal Pradesh.
Political analysts say the comments could influence the BJP’s strategy in the state and raise questions about whether the party will change its chief ministerial face in the next elections, as it has done in other states.
