A 92-year-old grandfather and his 31-year-old grandson are raising the temperatures in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi constituency. In the midst of this, the father is sandwiched. The grandfather and grandson are members of the Congress, while the father belongs to the BJP. What follows is the story of yet another political dynasty.
ALSO READ
- Panel pulls up Centre for failing to give EVM-VVPAT tally data for 2019 Lok Sabha polls
- Defeated by BJP's EVM hacking, party sabotage: Congress candidate
- Gehlot in damage-control mode after blaming Pilot for Jodhpur loss
- 'Priyanka did her job, but party, workers could not rise to occasion'
- EVMs a must for democracy, can't be tampered with: BEL CMD
- S. Jaishankar first career diplomat to be appointed foreign minister
The grandfather is former telecom minister Sukh Ram, convicted in the 90s telecom scam. His son, Anil Sharma, was the power minister in the state till a few days before, when his son Ashray Sharma was named the Congress candidate from the constituency. Anil Sharma, however, has not quit the BJP. Winning Mandi is important for Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who represents the Seraj assembly segment of the parliamentary constituency.
Sukh Ram is almost synonymous with Mandi. He represented Mandi assembly for over two decades till 1984, when he was elected to the Lok Sabha. He has been a minister of state for crucial portfolios like defence supplies and production, planning, food and civil supplies.
When Sukh Ram moved to Lok Sabha and Lutyens' Delhi, his son Anil Sharma contested and won the Mandi assembly seat in 1993, and the dynasty took root. When, in the mid-90s, the father and son were expelled from the Congress on account of the scam, they quickly formed the Himachal Vikas Congress, allied with the BJP and joined the government. But, Sukh Ram later reverted to the Congress.
Sources in Shimla say Sukh Ram is staking all his resources and energy into his grandson's maiden electoral contest. Ashray's name was announced late, giving the BJP enough time for ground work. But, the minute they saw the grandfather around, a BJP leader confessed, they knew it would no longer be a cakewalk.
Himachal has four parliamentary constituencies—the other three being Kangra, Shimla and Hamirpur. Polling will take place on May 19.