Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections: Recently, actor Huma Qureshi starrer 'Maharani-1 and 2’ made a buzz and drew praises for perfectly reflecting the ruthless politics that Bihar witnessed in 1990s on the silver screen. this time also a ‘Maharani’ is in news. But, this ‘Maharani’ does not represent reel real life and she is doing indeed a real political job in the hilly state.
Himachal Pradesh Congress president Pratibha Singh, the widow of Virbhadra Singh, who had been a six-time Chief Minister of the state, also represents the Mandi constituency in Lok Sabha, is campaigning in Himachal Pradesh Assembly election.
She is the ‘Maharani’ of the royal Rajput family of the erstwhile princely state of Bushahr. Her husband Virbhadra Singh was one of the tallest politicians in the hilly states. He was the 122nd titular Raja of Bushahr from 1947 until 1971. However, 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India, the privy purses of the princes were abolished and official recognition of their titles came to an end but it was not the end of the political dominance of the royal family. Her husband used to control Congress in the state. He was party president for 66-year (1983-2017). The dominance of the royal family in Congress continues even after the death of Virbhadra Singh as his wife got the reign of the party.
Meanwhile, the ‘Maharani’ is shouldering a huge responsibility as Congress is going through one of its toughest phases. She is the face of the ongoing assembly election in the state.
Pratibha Singh proved her political strength by defeating BJP leader Brigadier Khushal Thakur in Mandi Lok Sabha byelection which was necessitated following the death of MP Ram Swaroop Sharma who won in 2019 General Lok Sabha election. Despite the sympathy in favour of BJP and Modi-wave, Pratibha Singh outsmarted saffron party's candidate which showed her strength as a politician.
However, this time the challenge is much bigger, and wresting power from BJP in the state would not be an easy task. So, it would be interesting to see how people respond to Maharani’s appeal to vote for Congress. Let’s wait for December 8.
The voting for all 68 assembly seats in the state will be held on November 12 and the counting of votes will take place on December 8.
