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Thursday, Apr 29, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

Not easy for Shanta Kumar

Kanwar Yogendra

KANGRA

The former Union Minister, Shanta Kumar, who hails from Kangra district, and has a reputation for being the tallest BJP figure in Himachal Pradesh, appears to have run into trouble. Though he has won thrice from this seat, and is the sitting MP, the caste combinations in the region and factionalism in the BJP could put paid to his prospects of winning this time.

The Congress has nominated a "Girth" community (from the OBCs) candidate, Chander Kumar, from this seat.

He is currently Forest Minister in the Virbhadra Singh Government and wields a lot of influence amongst the OBCs in the State. The Congress is trying to rally the Rajputs and the Scheduled Castes against Mr. Kumar, who is from the minority Brahmin community.

The combination of Rajput-Girth-Scheduled Castes could be a formidable one in the predominantly caste-ridden Kangra district, say political observers. If they come together, Mr. Kumar's stature notwithstanding, he might lose, they add.

The Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, commands considerable respect amongst the Rajputs in the State and is trying his best to woo them. The Brahmin community in Kangra, though well knit, is not more than 20 per cent of the population by any estimation.

Another problem for Mr. Kumar, who was Chief Minister of the State in 1977 and 1990, is the factionalism in the BJP.

A clear indication of this came during the big showdown between the Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal factions of the BJP during the Kangra district BJP executive elections.

During the last BJP Government's rule in the State, ministers and MLAs belonging to Mr. Kumar's faction had levelled serious charges of corruption and nepotism against Mr. Dhumal and his cabinet colleagues. Mr. Dhumal and his supporters haven't quite gotten over it, and both groups continue to be at loggerheads, say observers.

The Congress is also trying to make Mr. Kumar's dream project of setting up a Vivekanand Memorial Medical Research Trust an election issue now. It may be recalled that Mr. Kumar had promised to give the State a medical institution along the lines of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi when he was a minister in the NDA Government. The Congress is charging that Mr. Kumar had misused his position to collect funds for the purpose and could not account for the money.

The State Education Minister, Asha Kumari, has demanded a special audit of the funds generated by the trust. Mr. Kumar is accused of running the trust as if it was his own fiefdom.

The senior BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj, while launching Mr. Kumar's campaign, had announced that the Central Government was ready to take over the project if the State Government was willing. It has subsequently snowballed into a poll issue in Kangra.

Mr. Kumar, who is believed to have his finger on the pulse of Kangra constituency, is working overtime to win over the voters. He is restricting himself to his constituency and is not canvassing, like earlier, in other constituencies of the State. He is highlighting the decisions taken during his tenure like the increase in sugar quota to the poor and the launch of the Antodaya, Annapurna and Swjaldhara programmes in the State. Mr. Kumar, who comes from a rural background, is the first-ever Cabinet Minister from this small hill State.

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