Mandi: Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday claimed that BJP-backed candidates secured a “historic victory” in the first phase of the Panchayati Raj elections in the state, alleging that the Congress government had lost public trust in rural Himachal.
In a statement issued from Mandi, Thakur said BJP-supported candidates for the posts of pradhan and up-pradhan had won in nearly 75% of the panchayats that went to polls in the first phase. He termed the outcome as a reflection of growing support for “nationalism and development” in rural areas.
Highlighting the party’s performance in Seraj, Thakur claimed that BJP-backed candidates won in 25 out of 28 panchayats, while Congress managed victories in only two. He thanked voters for what he described as an overwhelming mandate and said the region, which has faced repeated natural disasters, would be rebuilt with the support of newly elected representatives.
The BJP leader also launched a sharp attack on the Congress government, accusing it of halting development works after coming to power. He alleged that the state government delayed Panchayati Raj elections despite knowing the results would not favour Congress, leading to a six-month delay in grassroots development works.
Thakur further asserted that people now understood that “real development” of villages and regions could only take place under BJP leadership and expressed confidence that the party would return to power in Himachal Pradesh with the support of the Centre’s “double-engine government”.
In a separate political remark, Thakur referred to recent observations by the Supreme Court regarding the “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) process, claiming the court had upheld it as constitutional and legally valid. He accused Congress of misleading people for vote-bank politics and attempting to gain electoral advantage through “appeasement politics”.
