Anil Sharma: An ace up BJP's sleeve to counter Congress?

In 2014, if Narendra Modi had asked Anil Sharma: “Mere paas kendriya sarkar hai, tumhare paas kya hai?” Sharma (who had just re-joined the Congress and was yet to become a minister) might have said: “Mere paas Madam hain”, referring to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who played a part in approving his defection and elevation as a minister for rural development and animal husbandry in the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh led by Virbhadra Singh.

Now to a similar question by Virbhadra Singh, whose government he abandoned earlier this week to cross the floor and join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Sharma might say: “Mere paas Salman hai”. This refers to Bollywood actor Salman Khan whose sister Arpita is married to Anil Sharma’s son (and former telecom minister Sukh Ram’s grandson) Ayush.

As a reward, Sharma’s other son Ashraya is likely to be the BJP candidate from Mandi Sadar. Salman Khan’s road show in support of Anil and Ashraya Sharma and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is awaited by those living in Mandi. And so a circle, in a manner of speaking, will be squared.

If you were to ask a local what has been the contribution of Anil Sharma towards the development and growth of the Mandi region, he is apt to snort. 

A 2006 UNDP-sponsored Human Development Index report for Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh reveals the dimensions of the problems.

Surveyors noted that the number of uninhabited villages in the district was rising because there were no jobs and people were migrating to urban areas. Along with the pressure on land (grazing grounds), the pattern of animal husbandry was changing, with cows outnumbering buffaloes, sheep and poultry because there was no labour to take care of the animals. As animal husbandry was deemed to be an important element of the local economy, this was flagged as a disturbing trend. There was no significant increase in rural roads and this, in turn, was leading to underutilisation of school facilities because parents did not want to send children to schools far away.

In other words, everyone knew the problems. Did the local MLA/minister do anything to fix them?

Mandi is one of the districts most hit by landslides. More than 50 people died in landslide-related accidents in 2017 alone. The rural road infrastructure is poor. India’s youngest village pradhan, Jabna Chauhan, is from Mandi. She knows how hard it is to access education because there are no roads, buses or other infrastructure. She used to walk two hours every morning and evening to get to college, Chauhan told Business Standard.

Sharma tried to modernise Mandi’s veterinary facilities. Himachal Pradesh got the first instalment of Rs 5 crore from the Centre under the centrally-sponsored Strengthening of Existing Veterinary Hospital and Dispensary programme. The animal husbandry department had submitted a proposal of Rs 838.70 lakh for this project, under which 25 per cent share would be borne by the state. Fifty one dispensary and eight veterinary hospitals with modern equipment are to be constructed by the state. But when will this happen? 

So, with Anil Sharma’s son and Sukh Ram’s grandson back in the BJP, the idea of family rule will be challenged vigorously by the BJP, or will it?