‘People will vote for Modiji in return for the gifts he has given Himachal’

Modiji is our party’s leader. Our double engine government works under his leadership and guidance, Thakur said

In Himachal Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying hard to rewrite history. The state has not voted back any government to power in more than three decades. Leading the charge is Chief Minister Jairam Thakur who has been handling campaigns and dissidents around the clock. In the midst of hectic political activity, the chief minister sat down with DH’s Amrita Madhukalya for a chat. Edited excerpts.

There has not been a repeat government in Himachal in the last 37 years. Why do you think the BJP will be voted back to power this time?

Since 1985, in Himachal, no government has been repeated. Within the Congress, even Virbhadra Singh did not manage this feat; only Yashwant Singh Parmar, the state’s first chief minister, could. Having said that, one must acknowledge that there’s a first time for everything. Himachal will vote for the same government this time, I can say that with confidence. I know it is easier said than done, but we will do it. When PM Modi recollects his time in Himachal, people feel connected. The Centre has not left us behind, and the state government has done good work. The Opposition does not have any prominent issues to corner us.

Don’t you think the BJP is facing anti-incumbency in the state?

On the contrary, Himachal is witnessing pro-incumbency for the first time. I travel across assembly constituencies, and I meet people, and the feedback I got was that people are not angry for any particular reason. There is no single issue which has raised resentment among people, and the proof of that lies in the fact that even Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party do not have any poll plank to criticise us on.

The BJP lost by-elections in 2021. Will that affect the results of the assembly elections?

There is a significant difference in the atmosphere between that time and now. In the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, the Congress sought and won votes as a tribute to its late leader. Unfortunately, our experiments did not work. But since then, a year has passed, and there is a lot of positivity attached to the present BJP government.

The BJP is facing rebels in several seats after 11 legislators, including a state minister, were denied tickets. The party also changed the seats of two ministers.

If you look at it, the Congress has also given tickets to many faces that lost the Assembly elections in 2017. These allegations are coming from the Opposition, who will say anything. The BJP has a
different style of functioning: We conduct surveys at different levels, hold discussions, and then decide on the candidates.

One of the key electoral issues in the state is the anger of government officials over the new pension scheme and their demand to revert to the Old Pension Scheme. Will it spell trouble?

In my three-decade long political career, I have been in the Vidhan Sabha for 25 years. Employees have protested against every government. The old scheme was voluntarily closed by the Congress government; the then chief minister, Virbhadra Singh, implemented the NPS from 2012 to 2017. The government kept saying that restoring OPS is not practical. Our government set aside Rs 700 crore to make provision for family pensions from the back date for the employees coming under NPS. Our government is trying to find a practical solution to this issue, whereas Congress is indulging in politics.

The employees are smart enough to know who gave the new pay scale and who fixed the loopholes.

The Congress released a charge sheet against your government alleging scams in procurement of medical supplies during Covid, and for spending money on outsourcing hires.

When we came to power, we said that we would not work with the feeling of revenge. I have the charge sheet of the Congress government. We did not take these up with the police investigation, as we did not want to go back on our word. But they have started the fight now, so we will see where we can take it. Most of these are unsubstantiated attacks. They have spoken about some scams during COVID. On the contrary, we have done some good work. There were shortages of masks, sanitisers, PPTs, etc., but there were shortages everywhere. We had to make them available, but there is no scam attached to it.

The Opposition’s charge is that if the BJP government had worked for the people, the party would not have sent in PM Modi so many times.

Modiji is our party’s leader. Our double engine government works under his leadership and guidance. The prime minister considers Himachal Pradesh as his second home, and the people have returned the same love to him. Congress is troubled by this because they lack a leader who understands Himachal. When the Congress government was at the Centre, they reduced the duration of the industrial package given by Atalji. They also snatched the special status of the state, which was given back by Modiji. In addition to this, he has given Himachal the gift of medical colleges—Bilaspur AIIMS, Bulk Drug Park, Medical Device Park, etc. The people will vote for him in return for these gifts. The Congress has understood this, so now it has started targeting the PM.