Shimla: When a dynast, in his 30s, makes choice to enter the electoral contest, where veterans including his grandfather had built their own influence, the elections and its outcome can't go unnoticed.
That's how 32-year old Ashray Sharma, grandson of former telecom minister Sukh Ram is the centre of focus in Mandi Parliamentary constituency.
Contesting as Congress candidate in the high profile poll battle against sitting BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma, Sharma junior says, "Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has made the contest a point of his personal prestige. It's the government and Chief Minister fighting me, not Sharma."
If one is to believe his words, the fight in Mandi is not all Sharma v/s Sharma but it's Jai Ram Thakur v/s Sukh Ram.
Thakur is first time Chief Minister and hails from Mandi. This is also a historic moment in Himachal's political history that Mandi's young politician has risen to the Chief Ministerial post --- once aspired by Congress stalwarts like Karam Singh Thakur, Sukh Ram and later Kaul Singh Thakur.
"I have no hesitation in saying that Jai Ram Thakur, our Hon'ble Chief Minister is the man of the show in this election in making of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister again. I am just a symbol of a larger battle against the dynastic rule, defection and corruption -- all one in three in Sukh Ram and his family," he told the Millennium Post.
Ashray Sharma is the son of former BJP Minister Anil Sharma, who had joined the BJP in 2017 when he was a cabinet minister in the Congress government. He got elected and was inducted as a minister by Jai Ram Thakur.
Sukh Ram had been the man behind his son, Anil Sharma's entry to the BJP to take revenge against former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh – his bitter political rival because he (Singh) had tried sideline Anil Sharma and humiliate him with "Aya Ram Gaya Ram" Tag.
Ashray's ambitions to make a debut in politics under the shadows of Sukh Ram is well known as he had been lobbying in the BJP for a Lok Sabha ticket in place of Ram Swaroop. But, the BJP refused to oblige him and instead retained Sharma.
Now, with his grandfather (Sukh Ram), Ashray Sharma landed-up to Congress president Rahul Gandhi decided to give him the ticket. Anil Sharma had to resign from the cabinet when BJP asked him to campaign for the party.
Sukh Ram, in order to see that Virbhadra Singh campaigns for his grandson decided to bury his hatchet with Singh, knowing the influence that Singh holds in the area. There were still doubts if Virbhadra Singh camp is really comfortable with Ashray Sharma's rise to the politics.
Virbhadra Singh had won with seat in 1971, 1980 and 2009 while his wife Pratibha Singh was MP from Mandi in 2004 and 2013.
Before this, Sukh Ram, who served a minister in the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet and later P V Narasimha Rao, was MP from Mandi in 1981,1991 and 1994.
But Mandi being his home town, Sukh Ram had remained a force having quite an influence that still works for him and family. It's this legacy which Ashray Sharma had been
banking on despite he having been convicted in the Telecom scam.
Incidentally, of all four Lok Sabha seats, Ashray Sharma is matching the BJP's high profile campaign in terms of resources. The groupism in the Congress and BJP government's presence will be big disadvantages for him.