Kamlesh Thakur sworn in as MLA: CM Sukhu watches wife join House in a historic first
Shimla: It was a rare scene at the Himachal Pradesh state Assembly, perhaps the first in its history, when a newly elected woman MLA took the oath amidst the thumping of desks and packed visitor galleries, while her husband gracefully watched her walk up to the Speaker’s podium on Monday morning.
The woman MLA was Kamlesh Thakur, and the man watching her steps and rise to the political position was Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, the leader of the House.
Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania administered the oath and presided over the proceedings. Kamlesh Thakur, a gracious homemaker, was elected to the 68-member state Assembly from Dehra in Kangra, the state’s largest and politically significant district.
The by-election to the seat was necessitated by the resignation of Hoshiar Singh, a two-time independent MLA who had joined the BJP as one of three independent MLAs involved in the BJP’s aborted ‘topple plan’ against Chief Minister Sukhu.
Of the two other MLAs—K L Thakur (Nalagarh) and Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur)—only Sharma returned to the House on the BJP ticket, while Thakur lost badly to Congress’s Hardeep Singh Bawa, who has a successful transport business.
Present in the House were Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur and senior Cabinet ministers Col (Rtd) Dhani Ram Shandil, Harshvardhan Chauhan, Rohit Thakur, Vikramaditya Singh, and Rajesh Dharmani, along with the majority of Congress MLAs.
Wearing a blue-green sari, Kamlesh Thakur was greeted in the House by a large number of supporters and Congress workers, including her core team of friends. State Congress President Pratibha Singh, who was also present in the dignitaries’ gallery, greeted Kamlesh Thakur as she walked up to her after taking the oath.
Senior daughter of Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Ruhan Thakur, accompanied her mother to the Assembly.
“It’s certainly a great beginning. I thank the people of Dehra who elected me with an impressive margin. I also thank the Congress party for giving me a ticket, and our party workers deserve all the credit for sending me to the state Vidhan Sabha,” she said after the oath, flanked by Dr. Neelam Rattan, her close family friend and an academician.
With the induction of the three MLAs, the House is now complete with 68 members. The strength of Congress has risen to 40, while the BJP has 28 members in the legislative Assembly. For the first time in the history of Himachal Pradesh, there is no independent MLA in the House. Also, this is the first time that a couple, CM Sukhu and his wife Kamlesh Thakur, are members of the same House.
On March 22, the three independent MLAs submitted their resignations and joined the BJP the next day. However, their resignations were accepted by the Speaker on June 3—a day before the declaration of the results for four Lok Sabha seats, all won by the BJP, and six bypolls, four of which were won by the Congress, strengthening Sukhu’s position in the House.
