Pride of Devbhoomi

By Deepak Kumar Rath

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It cannot be gainsaid that Himachal Pradesh has made a giant stride on the front of development in the last four years. Naturally, this progress cannot be achieved without the hard work of the people of the state, but it is equally true that it cannot be done without the right leadership. Against this backdrop, it can be aptly said that it is the good fortune of Himachal that it has got a true CM, i.e. Common Man in the form of Jai Ram Thakur. The working style of the Jai Ram Thakur government, keeping in mind the sensitivity of public service, with simple and gentle nature has gone down in the heart of the people of Himachal Pradesh. Today, agriculture, pharma and tourism, in all the three sectors Himachal is marching on the path of development remarkably. Jai Ram Thakur is running the show with a balanced strategy of good governance and accommodating all in the changing sweet-and-sour situations. There was a discussion amongst the political pundits, when he took the reins of chief ministership, that he would be under the remote control of senior bureaucrats and senior leaders. But in any situation, his political vision is reflected in the well-oiled machinery of administration for good governance. Jai Ram Thakur is not only popular amongst the common man, but his leadership quality has been praised many times by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Party Chief JP Nadda. During the Covid period, CM himself spoke to many school children and assured them all sorts of help for them. Even Jai Ram personally ensured that Himachal becomes the first state to get 100 per cent vaccination, gas connection to every home, supplying drinking water at every village and directly connecting with the common man. For the first time, Devbhoomi got such a popular leader who is all set to return back to power.

People of Himachal are very much concerned about the “culture of Devbhoomi”. So, when Jai Ram Thakur assumed power in Himachal, they were more concerned about the face, who could save and preserve the culture of Devbhoomi. But in his tenure of more than four years, Jai Ram Thakur has been successfully preserving and permeating the culture of Devbhoomi inside and outside the state. In fact, he is further taking the state to new heights. It is his thinking that Himachal has not only excelled in the tourism sector but has also become the global hub of the pharma sector. What is more, projects like expansion and modernisation of Kangra airport and construction of a new airport in Mandi, for improving the air connectivity in near future for Himachal have also been started.  Furthermore, the government has done a good work in the field of hydro power–out of 45,000 MW of generation in the hydro-power sector across the country, Himachal Pradesh contributes 1100 MW. In fact, Jai Ram Thakur’s plan is to establish the state as a major surplus state in the hydro-power sector, as the government aims at crossing 50,000 MW in the coming two years.  Having said this, it can be aptly summed up that elections are to be held in Gujarat by the end of this year. The real challenge of Jai Ram Thakur will be to get the party’s victory in this election. Only then will his leadership be tested. Now, it remains to be seen how big a victory he will be able to achieve with the help of his good governance, his plans and his policies.