Missing in action: Shanta Kumar — founder member of BJP and first non-Cong CM

Kumar, who was elected to Lok Sabha for four terms, was the first non-Congress leader to take charge as chief minister of Himachal Pradesh in 1977

The party veteran has not campaigned for BJP candidate from Palampur, Trilok Kapoor. “He has not been seen in any of the rallies held in the city. He has been missing from the campaign,” said Manoj Kumar, a resident of Palampur. Another Palampur local, Chanchal Singh Rana said, “His era has ended”. (File)

Two-time former chief minister of Himachal Pradesh and one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, veteran leader Shanta Kumar is conspicuous by his absence from the political scene, especially in his home town Palampur, at a time when campaigning for the November 12 Assembly polls have hit the feverish pitch.

Named as a star campaigner by the BJP, the 88-year-old, however, has been pushed to the fringes by the party’s top leadership. The BJP had earlier put a sudden stop to Kumar’s nearly 60-year-long political innings in 2019 by denying him a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections.

Kumar, who was elected to Lok Sabha for four terms, was the first non-Congress leader to take charge as chief minister of Himachal Pradesh in 1977. He had a second stint as CM in 1990. Both his terms as CM, however, were short-lived, with first ending in 1980 following defection engineered by the Congress and the second ending following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992.

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Kumar, who once wielded influence over the 23 per cent Brahmins in the state, is now relegated to sidelines in his home town, Palampur, which swears by sitting Congress MLA Ashish Butail’s family. Butail’s supporters won in 13 wards out of total 15 last year in municipal elections.

The party veteran has not campaigned for BJP candidate from Palampur, Trilok Kapoor. “He has not been seen in any of the rallies held in the city. He has been missing from the campaign,” said Manoj Kumar, a resident of Palampur.
Another Palampur local, Chanchal Singh Rana said, “His era has ended”.

During the last election, Kumar had openly supported Parveen Sharma, who was dumped by the BJP, which gave ticket to Indu Goswami. Kumar had protested against the party high command. Parveen Sharma contested as an independent. He was ousted by the party but brought back into the party fold during Lok Sabha elections at Kumar’s behest.

In a rare outing on Sunday, Kumar campaigned for his aide and BJP nominee from Sullah Vipin Singh Parmar.