Mandi LS seat in Himachal likely to test two Rams' prestige

It may well be a Jai Ram versus Sukh Ram poll battle for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh in the ensuing general elections.

Former Union Telecom Minister Sukh Ram and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur's prestige will be at stake in Mandi seat, which is going to poll along with three other parliamentary seats of the hill state on May 19.

The BJP has already renominated its sitting MP Ramswaroop Sharma, whose candidature was openly supported by Thakur despite Sukh Ram's grandson Aashray Sharma too vying for the BJP ticket from Mandi.

With Sukh Ram joining Congress with his grand son on Monday, the Congress will most probably give its ticket to Aashray Sharma, a senior Congress told PTI.

Mandi being the chief minister's home district, ensuring Ramswaroop Sharma's victory there will be a matter of personal prestige for Thakur.

On the other hand, Sukh Ram too will leave no stone unturned to get his grandson win this seat. Ninty-one-year-old Sukh Ram, the former Union telecom minister in P V Narasimha Rao-led Congress government, has represented Mandi thrice in Lok Sabha - in 1984, 1991 and 1996.

Sukh Ram's grandson Aashray has already been electioneering in Mandi for weeks, even before joining the Congress.

"I have already campaigned in 15 out of 17 assembly segments except Seraj and Jogindernagar falling under Mandi parliamentary constituency," Sharma, 33, told PTI.

Interestingly, Sukh Ram's son and Aashray's father Anil Sharma is currently the power minister in Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government in Himachal.

Sukh Ram joining the Congress along with his grand-son has left his son Anil Sharma's political career as a minister in Himachal's BJP government in quandary.

He may soon face the dilemma whether to leave the Cabinet and campaign for his son Ashray Sharma, or stay put with the BJP and cheer for the party's Mandi candidate Ramswaroop Sharma.

HP state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti told PTI 'It is up to Anil Sharma to decide whether to remain as minister or quit.'