THE ‘DYNAST' QUESTION

On October 8, when the BJP announced candidates for the bypolls in Himachal, in Jubbal Kotkhai, a remote constituency in the Upper Shimla region, Chetan Bragta reported­ ly wept on stage, in full view of the pub­lic.

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

The seat had fallen vacant after the death of his father, BJP veteran Naren­dra Bragta, in June due to post­Covid complications, and Chetan had been hoping to succeed him. The party high command, though, preferred to go with a lesser-known leader, Neelam Seraik, even though Bragta Jr had the backing of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

In the bargain, Chetan turned a rebel Independent and cut into the BJP vote—to the benefit of Congress candidate Rohit Thakur, who won. Seraik forfeited her deposit. The party also lost the two other assembly bypoll seats, Arki and Fatehpur, as well as the prestigious Mandi Lok Sabha seat. The results are a big setback to Thakur’s growing stature in the state unit. He made his way to the top while former chief ministers Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal were still around, and even with his bête noire, cabinet minister Anurag Thakur, nip­ ping at his heels.

The defeat in Thakur’s home turf Mandi—his assembly segment Seraj falls in the constituency—will rankle the most. While there was a sympa­ thy wave in favour of Congress candi­ date Pratibha Singh, widowed after Virbhadra Singh, former chief minister and titular king of Rampur Bushahr estate, passed away, Thakur was expected to overcome the challenge with the benefit of an X­factor incum­ bent chief ministers typically enjoy. In 2019, the incumbent Ram Swaroop Sharma had defeated Aashray Sharma of the Congress by more than 400,000 votes here. The seat fell vacant after Sharma died by suicide in March.