Shimla: Caste politics are likely to play an important role in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, which are scheduled for November 12. Caste equations in Himachal may not be as well known as in UP-Bihar, but five out of six Chief Ministers, including incumbent CM Jai Ram Thakur, in the hill state are Rajputs. Besides Thakur, Yashwant Parmar the first Chief Minister of the state was also a Rajput.
He remained in the post four times. Ramlal Thakur was the Chief Minister twice while Virbhadra Singh of Congress took oath six times and Prem Kumar Dhumal of BJP twice as Chief Minister of Himachal. Shanta Kumar has been the only Brahmin Chief Minister of Himachal. Shanta Kumar took oath as Chief Minister twice. In terms of population, according to the 2011 census, more than 50 per cent of the population in Himachal is upper caste. Rajputs constitute 32.72 per cent and Brahmins 18 per cent, Scheduled Castes 25.22% and 5.71% Scheduled Tribes. OBCs are 13.52 per cent and minorities 4.83 per cent in the state.
The term of the 13th Legislative Assembly, which is about to end in Himachal, was dominated by Rajputs with as many as 50 per cent of MLAs being from the caste. Of the total 68 Assembly seats, 48 seats are unreserved, out of which Rajputs have 33 seats with 18 from BJP, 12 from Congress, one from CPIM and two independent faces.
In this year's Assembly elections, there is a direct contest between BJP and Congress. This time, too, both BJP and Congress have prioritised Rajput faces on 28 seats each in terms of tickets. This shows the influence of caste politics in general and Rajputs in particular. In the 12-member cabinet in Himachal, including CM Jairam Thakur, six ministers are Rajputs including Mahendra Singh, Virendra Kanwar, Bikram Singh, Gobind Singh Thakur, Rakesh Pathania.
Mahendra Thakur, who is not contesting, has fielded his son Rajat Thakur from Dharampur seat of Mandi district. Rajputs have been dominating the politics of Himachal Pradesh since the beginning. Veteran leaders, including Dr YS Parmar, Virbhadra Singh, Ramlal Thakur, Prem Kumar Dhumal, Karm Singh Thakur, Thakur Jagdev Chand, Jai Ram Thakur, Anurag Thakur, JBL Khachi, Kaul Singh Thakur, Gulab Singh Thakur, Maheshwar Singh, Ganga Singh Thakur, Mahendra Singh Thakur, Kunjlal Thakur, Govind Singh Thakur, Major Vijay Singh Mankotia, Pratibha Singh, Sujan Singh Pathania, Guman Singh Thakur, Harshvardhan Singh, Ramlal Thakur, Sukhwinder Singh Thakur are all Rajputs.
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Besides Rajputs, Brahmins and OBCs can also be the kingmakers in the politics of Himachal Pradesh. According to the 2011 census, 18 per cent of Himachal's population is Brahmins. Many Brahmin faces have made their mark in the politics of Himachal. Shanta Kumar has been the only Brahmin Chief Minister of the state.
Besides Kumar, many Brahmin faces like former Union Minister Pandit Sukhram, BJP National President JP Nadda, Suresh Bhardwaj and Anand Sharma are worth mentioning. Many of these faces were also in the race for the Chief Minister of Himachal but remained in the shadow of Congress veteran Virbhadra Singh.
As far as the OBC population in Himachal is concerned, they may only be 13.52 per cent, but the OBC vote bank can prove to be decisive in the Assembly elections, especially in Kangra district where there is a maximum of 15 seats. In Himachal politics, it is often said the seat power goes through the fort of Kangra, which has more than 50 per cent of the OBC population accounting for about 18 to 20 seats in the state.
OBC faces may not have been able to see the peak of politics in Himachal, but leaders like Chandra Kumar, Neeraj Bharti, Pawan Kajal and Sarveen Chaudhary have a say in their respective areas. The Scheduled Caste population is the second largest after Rajputs in Himachal. Seventeen out of 68 Assembly seats in the state are reserved for Scheduled Castes.
