For the first time since the humiliating defeat of Congress in the May 2014 parliamentary elections, Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh poured out his pent up pain before a public forum. Addressing a public meeting at the sprawling Kansa Chowk in Balh Valley on Tuesday, he suddenly became sentimental over the defeat of his wife and Congress parliamentary candidate, Pratibha Singh, from Mandi Parliamentary constituency and blamed former Union Minister Sukh Ram and Brahmanvad for it to a great extent.
“My heart bleeds over the Congress defeat”, he said in a pensive note. “Where were those tall-stature leaders whom the Congress party had groomed for decades and adorned on the highest ministerial berthsIJ he asked. “If they had worked earnestly and honestly the question of Congress defeat would not have arisen,” he claimed. In the wake of formidable Modi wave in the hilly State, the entire situation had turned in favour of the BJP. Not only the Mandi seat, but all four Parliamentary seats had also went out the hands of Congress which was ruling in the hill State.
BJP candidate, and an ordinary RSS worker and a non entity hailing from a sleepy village of Jogindernagar defeated the wife of the Chief Minister by a margin of about 40,000 votes. BJP got a minor lead in all the Assembly segment except five small tribal constituencies where princely rulers are still held in high esteem. Impartial observers, however, say that to hold Pt Sukh Ram responsible for the defeat of Pratibha Singh was unjustified. She got only 17,180 votes from the Mandi segment while Ram Swarup secured 21,182.
In all the constituencies of Congress stalwarts including Health Minister, Thakur Kaul Singh, Excise and Taxation Minister, Prakash Chaudhary and Rural Development Minister, Anil Sharma, BJP got a big lead. Meanwhile there has been sharp criticism of the uncalled for outbursts of the chief minister against Sukh Ram and Brahmins who said they burnt mid-night oil for the Congress candidate. Such words as used by Virbhadra Singh did not behove a man of his stature, a supporter of Sukh Ram said. Detractors of Virbhadra Singh say Chief Minister was closing his eyes and was not ready to accept the Modi wave sweeping across the country and had gone saying to the extent of leaving politics if BJP won in Himachal Pradesh.