Lok Sabha polls 2014: BJP bastion Hamirpur set for tough contest

HAMIRPUR: A BJP bastion that has elected a Congress nominee only once in the past 25 years, Hamirpur is headed for a tough contest on May 7 when it goes to the polls along with the three other parliamentary constituencies in Himachal Pradesh.

Although Anurag Singh Thakur, the sitting MP, says he sees no threat to his position, a probe by the state vigilance bureau has concluded that his father, former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, misused his position to facilitate land lease for the cricket stadium in Dharamshala. The probe concluded that Dhumal was the chief patron of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association and he influenced his cabinet to lease out 11.8 hectare to build the stadium.

“Everyone can see that the case is politically motivated. Congress is using all means against us, but people are smart enough to understand,” says two-time MP Thakur, who was also under the vigilance bureau scanner in the case. Thakur’s confidence notwithstanding, BJP workers on the ground say he is unlikely to find the contest a cakewalk. The

Congress has fielded Rajinder Rana, a one-time lieutenant of Dhumal while AAP had turned to Kargil war hero Captain Vikram Batra’s mother, Kamal Kant Batra. Hamirpur’s electoral fate has traditionally been sealed by the Rajput community – with surnames such as Thakur, Rana and Chandel – which has many people serving in or retired from the armed forces.