Elevation of Seraj MLA Jai Ram Thakur to the chief ministerial post marks a new beginning of politics in Himachal Pradesh. It’s for the first time that a comparatively low-profile leader with humble beginnings has risen to the top.
BJP insiders say that his clean image, gradual rise from the ranks, easy-to-approach personality, and above all backing of RSS helped the former minister clinch the CM chair. They also point out that Thakur represents the class of leaders who have made a mark in the state politics by the dint of their hard work.
His rise was also helped by the factor that this time BJP has made a clean sweep in Mandi district by winning nine seats out of total 10. Remaining one seat was won by an Independent. Putting Thakur at the helm of affairs is also likely to help the party win the Mandi parliamentary seat in 2019 assembly election, they say.Thakur was just 28 years old when he first contested the assembly elections from Chachiot in Himachal in 1993. He lost by a slender 800-vote margin. However, he continued to nurture and consolidate the seat and won the next elections.
Led by Thakur, the saffron party stormed to power for the first time on its own in the hill state in 2007 and Prem Kumar Dhumal became the chief minister. Thakur served as rural development and Panchayati Raj minister in the Dhumal government from 2010 to 2012.
Even before joining BJP, he was active in ABVP and then BJYM. He did his postgraduation in English from Panjab University in Chandigarh and decided to join politics when he was in his 20s.
He is said to enjoy a good rapport with BJP national president Amit Shah and Union health minister J P Nadda.
Sources said that another factor which swung the decision in his favor was being a Rajput. In the state barring Shanta Kumar, all other chief ministers have come from a Rajput community for the simple reason that community has substantial vote share and even greater influence in the state politics. With his elevation as chief minister, BJP also has sorted out the leadership issue for quite some time as he is only 52 now.
He is married to Dr. Sadhna Singh and has two daughters. His father, who died last year, was a farmer and also did some carpentry. His mother is alive. On Sunday, she said that she wished her husband was alive to see his son become the CM.
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