SHIMLA/MANDI: 

As an average boy from a humble pahari family background of remote Tandi village in Seraj, Jai Ram Thakur never dreamt at that  stage of life that he would one day become Chief Minister of the state at a young age of 54 years. But he reached the top office by dint of his hard work and by the state craft of grass- roots politics he practices. Four years down the line, Jai Ram Thakur, the five-time BJP legislature from Seraj, has many reasons to cheer about and celebrate and people, mainly of Mandi district to ponder over his journey to the top office.  

Jai Ram Thakur has completed four years of his pandemic-hit hard tenure successfully. He has made Himachal as India’s first state to vaccinate its cent percent adult population and a “model state” for Natural farming for the rest of the country.

Thakur gave a happy burial to the protracted “Politics of political vendetta” and “politics of Caps” that has increased his political stature. By doing this Thakur changed political narrative from “time- and energy-consuming useless matters” to narrative of the positive development of the state”, said analysts.   

To celebrate the four years of the BJP  government, Jai Ram Thakur came out in the town, struck personal chord with the residents by personally visited their shops, inviting them to take part in the celebrations. It is a big day for people of Mandi as Thakur is the first Chief Minister from Mandi district, which is the central region of Himachal Pradesh.  In his appeal, he has invited people from across the state to participate in the celebration but not forget  wearing mask and maintaining  a two-yard distance during the public gathering in the Paddal Maidan of Mandi town.

Jai Ram Thakur’s four years term was marked by “highs” and “lows” of state’s politics.  His political stature has increased as he has become popular among people as a “humble and an easy to access leader” and praise has not come from his fans, but from CPIM senior leader and Theog MLA Rakesh Singha, who has showered praises on Jai Ram Thakur in the last session of the Vidhan Sabha saying that he would “surpass Virbhadra Singh in kindness if he continues the way he is doing now”.    

In the hard electoral politics,  Jai Ram Thajur witnessed a high when BJP won all the four Lakh Sabha seats, taking huge leads on all 68 assembly constituencies in “Modi wave” in 2017 Lok Sabha general elections. This has put the opposition Congress in a massive political shock. BJP also won all subsequent by-elections.    

But Thakur’s low came in 2021 by-elections, when BJP lost all the four seats- Mandi Lok Sabha and three assembly seats. The saving grace was that BJP  maintained its lead in all but one seat in Mandi district, but Congress got a proverbial ‘Sanjivni’ from its win mainly in Mandi,  where Congress candidate,  Pratibha Singh rode to victory on “sympathy factor for her  husband, Virbhadra Singh”, the six- time Chief Minister, who was the sitting MLA from Arki, who died on July 8, 2021.

On development front, Jai Ram Thakur gave a flying start to zero-budget  Natural farming, which has been adopted by over 1.5 lakh farmers in Himachal- a model that was started by then governor Acharya Devvrat and now it is being replicated in many states across India to revive sagging agriculture sector from its crisis.

Though Congress is protesting BJP government’s four year period tomorrow as a period of “Dushasan”  and is talking about preparing a “charge sheet” to score a political point against BJP, but it is also true that the Congress so far could not come out with any major  scam to pin Jai Ram Thakur government.   

The big banners and hoardings picturising Prime Minister Narender Modi and Jai Ram Thakur at the venue gives an indication that Thakur would likely be the CM candidate for the coming 2022 elections, considering that Congress, BJP’s main rival,   has many claimants to the post, but  none of them are a crowd puller with the exit of Virbhadra Singh in Himachal.  

To give a new push to the four years term of the Jai Ram Thakur government and the golden jubilee celebration of statehood, Prime Minister Narender Modi will initiate projects worth Rs 11,281 crore and will  address a big rally in historic Paddal Maidan of the temple town of Mandi, which is revered as Chhoti Kashi of Himachal to make a bid for the coming 2022 state assembly elections to be held later in the year.     

Modi would not only highlight the achievements of double engine Jai Ram Thakur government, but also  would lay a road map for the next 25 years of Bharat Ki Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav  on Monday and will also mark the golden jubilee of Himachal’s statehood.  

On this occasion, Prime Minister would dedicate and lay foundation stone of development projects worth Rs.11,281 crore in the state. These projects would include dedication of 111 MW Sawra-Kuddu Hydro Electric Project (HEP) constructed with an outlay of Rs. 2081.60 crore on river Pabbar in district Shimla. The Sawra-Kuddu HEP would generate 386 Million units of electricity per annum, which will generate annual revenue of about Rs. 120 crore to the state.

The Prime Minister would lay foundation stone of Shri Renuka ji Dam, a national project conceived as a storage project of Rs. 6700 crore on river Giri in district Sirmaur. The project would generate 200 Million units of energy in a surface power house with 40 MW installed capacity which would be utilised by the state. 

The live storage of dam would be 498 Million Cubic Meters, which would fulfill about 40 percent of drinking water requirement of Delhi.

Narendra Modi would lay foundation stone of 66 MW Dhaulasidh Hydro Electric Project, which would be constructed with an expenditure of Rs. 688 crore. The project is located on river Beas in Hamirpur and Kangra districts. He would also lay foundation stone of 210 MW Luhri power project stage-I to be completed with an expenditure of Rs. 1811 crore, a joint venture between Government of India and Government of Himachal Pradesh.

The power generated from these projects would help in providing grid stability and improving the power supply position, besides adding valuable renewable energy to the grid. The Dhaulasidh Hydro Electric Project would lead to reduction of 2.4 lakh tons and Luhri Hydro Electric Project would lead 6.1 lakh tons reduction of carbon dioxide from environment annually. 

(Kuldeep Chauhan is Editor, HimbuMail)