For long Shanta Kumar was the undisputed leader of Himachal Pradesh BJP and is still widely regarded as the archetype of traditional politics in which ideology and clean image are the main assets of a candidate.
He retired from active politics sometime ago but has been persuaded one last time by the Central leadership to contest from Kangra so that the party repeats its performance of 3-1 in 2009 in 2014 polls as well if not 4-0. “If you want Kangra on world map, vote for Shanta as he would be a Cabinet Minister in the Narendra Modi Government,” this is the common refrain of his election managers in the entire constituency. The BJP candidate himself tells the voters to make him victorious one last time.
What Hamirpur is to Prem Kumar Dhumal, Mandi is to Virbhadra Singh, it is Shanta Kumar all the way in not only in Kangra valley but also the upper reaches, surrounded by the magnificent Dhauladhar range snow-peaked mountains. He has been a two-time Chief Minister of the State and one of those leaders who made the party reach every nook and corner of the hill State ever since the Jan Sangh days.
Even though Kumar’s personal integrity and appeal is never questioned even by his Congress rivals, BJP did badly in 2012 Assembly polls in his stronghold. This factor is worrying the party now. Out of the 17 Assembly segments, Congress won 13 and BJP only three. This resounding defeat in Kangra forced BJP to bite dust in the Assembly polls. So, for the 79-year old BJP veteran, it is time for redemption and time to bring back the old glory. In 2013, Kumar and Dhumal were at loggerheads on selection of candidates resulting in several rebels and loss for the BJP. This time, they are united, standing under a common umbrella and that is making Narendra Modi the Prime Minister of the country.
Shanta Kumar is pitted against Chander Kumar of Congress who won in 2004 but lost in 2009. Chander Kumar hails from the OBC community which is in good numbers here unlike other constituencies of the State. The other main castes are Rajputs and Brahmins. But ask the candidates and others and they will tell you that caste was never a factor here nor is it a factor in this election even though the Congress candidate is raising the issue and his caste origins. Shanta Kumar is a Brahmin and so is Rajan Sushant, the Aam Aadmi Party candidate who won the 2009 polls on a BJP ticket. Sushant started targeting the BJP leaders consistently, particularly Prem Kumar Dhumal soon after his victory in the lok Sabha polls.
In his election meetings, Shanta Kumar says that Sushant is a candidate “hired” by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to target him. He tells the people convincingly that in the 2009 polls, he argued with the central leadership of BJP and got the party ticket for Sushant. Then the veteran says that in the 2012 polls, three factors have ensured that it would be a Modi-led Government in the Centre.
According to him, these are “inflation, corruption and black deeds” of the UPA Government. More than the local issue, he is raising the problems which the country is facing and how Modi could solve the problems of the country and Himachal Pradesh. Interestingly, Kangra is the only constituency in the State where Congress has left its candidate to fend for himself. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has not campaigned the way he has done in other constituencies and neither have the MlAs put all their efforts. In fact, he praised Shanta Kumar repeatedly in his meetings saying he was an honest man.