Grand Alliance will have no impact in Himachal, says CM Jai Ram Thakur

For the first time in Himachal Pradesh’s history, 30 new schemes were announced in a budget with adequate monetary provisions, says Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur.

Jai Ram Thakur was a surprise choice for the chief minister’s post after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in Himachal Pradesh last December. As he completes nine months in office this month, Thakur spoke to Kumar Uttam about his tenure, the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and related issues. Excerpts:

Jai Ram Thakur was a surprise choice for the chief minister’s post after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in Himachal Pradesh last December.(HT File Photo)

Your selection as chief minister surprised many. How were you chosen over many established leaders?

I am a five-term MLA and have risen through the ranks. I might be alien to Lutyens’ Delhi, but I have worked tirelessly in the organisation in Himachal Pradesh. I have held party posts from district to state level. I was a minister in the previous BJP government. So, my selection was not a surprise to Himachal Pradesh’s people. Delhi could have been surprised. When I was chosen to head the government, the Opposition and the media felt I am not going to last long. Gradually, they have reconciled to the fact that I am here to stay.

You have completed eight months in office. How do you rate your performance?

We came to power in December last year and I presented my first budget this year. It is too early for a self-review. But for the first time in Himachal Pradesh’s history, 30 new schemes were announced in a budget with adequate monetary provisions. Most of these schemes have taken off and their impact has started showing on the ground. It will take some time, but the government is treading the right path. We have zero tolerance towards corruption.

The BJP won all four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal in 2014. The parliamentary elections are due early next year. How are you preparing for it?

The situation in every state is different. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are common to each of them. Modi’s personal popularity and Shah’s organisation skills have no match. They are to the BJP what Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani were to the party earlier. Under Modi and Shah, the party has grown. Today, we have a popular face and well-oiled party machinery. This is enough to win any electoral battle.

The BJP is in power in the state and at the Centre. Would not a double anti-incumbency work against the BJP?

Except for the last election when the Congress was in power in the state and the BJP swept all Lok Sabha seats, Himachal Pradesh has generally voted for the party that is in power in the state. The question of double anti-incumbency does not arise. The government at the Centre is popular, and people have started experiencing the change under the BJP government locally.

Will the BJP drop some of its MPs to minimise the impact of anti-incumbency?

This is a decision that will be taken by the central election committee of the party at an appropriate time. We have no confusion in Himachal Pradesh. We have already started working for the next election.

Do you see a challenge from the proposed alliance of opposition parties against the BJP?

The mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) will have no impact in Himachal Pradesh. We have a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress in our state. The Congress is in tatters in Himachal Pradesh. There is no third party. The BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) got less than 1% votes in parliamentary and assembly elections. Even in states, where a grand alliance is in the making, they lack a face. People will surely ask who is the face against Narendra Modi? The opposition has no answer to these questions.

Himachal Pradesh has a sizeable upper caste population. Will the ongoing agitation against the SC/ST Act and promotion in reservation issues upset BJP’s calculation?

The party’s leadership… will take a decision in the interest of the nation and its people. We have always believed that division should not be created in the society for political gains. Let us treat this issue with the amount of sensitivity it requires.