Himachal stalwart passes away

The death of Virbhadra Singh, veteran Congress politician and the sitting MLA from Arki in Himachal Pradesh, marks the end of an era. The 87-year-old had been struck by Covid-19 twice between April and June, and though he recovered both times despite his advanced age, the complications caused by the virus eventually overpowered him. This brings to an end a public career that began in 1947, when he became the titular raja of the erstwhile princely state of Bushahr, prominent among the pre-Independence Shimla Hill States. As he liked to narrate, he was urged to join politics by Jawaharlal Nehru and he became an MP at 27 in 1962. Over the course of the next six decades, he dominated the state politics like none other, becoming the chief minister on six occasions — serving in that post a total of more than 21 years since the state elected its first Assembly in 1972. Away from provincial politics, he was elected to the Lok Sabha five times and served as a minister at the Centre in various governments.

Singh, despite advancing years, remained the party supremo until the end, though he had faced challenges on many occasions — in 1993, for instance, when the party high command backed Sukh Ram to become chief minister, Singh did not meekly give way. He had the support of a majority of the legislators and his will prevailed over that of the central leadership. In his tribute to Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh referred to him as a ‘mentor to many of us’ — it perhaps was a reference to Singh’s strong will and refusal to accept the Congress high command’s diktats lying down.

The departure of the tallest leader of Himachal Pradesh leaves a vacuum in the state politics — even more so in the Congress, which would struggle to find a leader to fill his shoes. Singh enjoyed unparalleled popularity across the state, but the flip side of his absolute dominance is that there is no second-rung leadership in the state Congress. Before next year’s Assembly election, despite his age, Singh could have played a consensus-maker for the Congress. His death is a blow to the party and it’s likely to ignite a power struggle in the state Congress.