Prem Kumar Dhumal (pronounced ; born 10 April 1944) is an Indian politician and has twice served as the
Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, from March 1998 to March 2003 and again from 1 January 2008 to 25 December 2012. He was the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...
's Chief Ministerial candidate for the
2017 Himachal Assembly Election, in which he lost his seat.
Early life
Prem Kumar Dhumal was born on 10 April 1944 in Samirpur village,
Hamirpur district.
His father's name was Capt. Mahant Ram and mother Phulmu Devi.
He has M.A. (Eng), and LL.B. degrees following his education at
Doaba College
Doaba College, Jalandhar is a multifaculty postgraduate co-educational institution of Northern India which serves the Doaba region. The college has been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, an autonomous body of the ...
in
Jalandhar and
Guru Nanak Dev University
The university is Entitled by University Grants Commission to offer higher studies degree courses online. Guru Nanak Dev University's campus is spread over near village of Kot Khalsa, nearly west of the Amritsar, next to Khalsa College, Am ...
,
Amritsar
Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...
.
He became a lecturer at a private college in
Punjab.
Dhumal married Sheela on 23 May 1972,
with whom he has two sons, Arun Singh Dhumal and
Anurag Thakur
Anurag (Devanagari: अनुराग) (pronounced "Anurāg"), sometimes shorted Anu, is a common Indian first name. There are various meanings of Anurag in Sanskrit such as attachment, devotion, passion and eternal love.
Notable people named Anu ...
. The latter is also a politician and has been a member of the
14th and
15th Lok Sabha
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2009 general election in India. It was dissolved on 18 May 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won 44 more seats than the previou ...
s, as well as Minister of State
Ministry of Finance (India) but was elevated to the rank of Cabinet Minister for
Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs and
Minister of Information and Broadcasting
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Ministry of I&B) is a ministerial level agency of the Government of India responsible for the formulation and administration of rules, regulations and laws in the areas of information, broadcasting, the ...
in the July 2021.
Political career
Dhumal became vice-president of the
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha
The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) (translation: Indian People's Youth Front) is the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian po ...
in 1982.
In 1984, he was selected as the candidate for the
Hamirpur parliamentary constituency when the sitting
Member of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (MLA), and state stalwart
Jagdev Chand, refused to stand.
Dhumal lost that election but won in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
and
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Ph ...
,
and before losing the seat to Major General Bikram Singh in the
1996 Indian general election.
After the sudden death of
Jagdev Chand in 1993,
Dhumal became active in state politics.
Dhumal was elected president of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...
in
Himachal Pradesh and became the state's Chief Minister following the
March 1998 state assembly elections.
He won the
Bamsan constituency of the
Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
The seat of the Vidhan Sabha is at Shimla, the capital of the state. The Vidhan Sabha comprises 68 Members of Legislative Assembly, which include 68 members directly elected from single-seat constituency. Its term is 5 years, unless sooner dis ...
with a margin of 18,000 votes.
He headed the BJP-
Himachal Vikas Congress
Himachal Vikas Congress (''Himalayan Development Congress''), was a regional political party in Himachal Pradesh, India.
Formation
Himachal Vikas Congress was formed when Sukh Ram and Anil Sharma split from the Indian National Congress after ...
coalition government for its full statutory term of five years, from 1998 to 2003
and became Leader of the Opposition when the BJP lost power in the 2003 elections,
winning only 16 seats despite support from the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Union government.
His tenure as the chief minister saw significant infrastructure developments, particularly of roads, and gave rise to Dhumal being called the ''Sadak walla Chief Minister''.
Dhumal resigned his seat in the Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly upon winning the Hamirpur constituency in a 2007 by-election for the
Lok Sabha.
The by-election came about because of the expulsion of
Suresh Chandel, a BJP
Member of Parliament who had been involved in a cash-for-questions scandal.
A further by-election in May 2008 saw Dhumal replaced as MP by his son, Anurag Thakur.
Dhumal became
Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh for a second time after being sworn in on 30 December 2007 after the BJP won that year's
assembly elections.
The BJP lost power in the
2012 elections.
In the state assembly elections of 2017, Dhumal stood as a BJP candidate in the
Sujanpur constituency and was the party's proposed candidate for the Chief Ministerial office. Even though the BJP gained majority in the elections, Dhumal lost to
Rajinder Rana from the Indian National Congress, thwarting his chances to lead the government for the third time in Himachal Pradesh.
Personal interests
He has written large number of articles which have been published in different leading newspapers on political, cultural, sports and other national issues from time to time and he was the general secretary of the Doaba College literary society and editor of college magazine.
His social and cultural interests include helping the poor sections of the society in getting good education free of cost or at cheaper cost and helping the poorer sections of society in getting their daughters married.
He has special interest in the field of rural development, employment generation, involvement of youth in constructive work and activities, development of tourism, Hydel power in the state, inspire agriculturists to switch over to horticulture, floriculture and heliculture so that they can increase their income.
He has interest in reading and listening to good music in free time. He had also been captain of the college volleyball team for three consecutive years and played it up to his university level.
References
External links
* Corruption Issue : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100121/himachal.htm#4
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhumal, Prem Kumar
Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party
Living people
Chief Ministers of Himachal Pradesh
1944 births
India MPs 1989–1991
India MPs 1991–1996
India MPs 2004–2009
Himachal Pradesh MLAs 2007–2012
Himachal Pradesh MLAs 2012–2017
Lok Sabha members from Himachal Pradesh
People from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh
Leaders of the Opposition in Himachal Pradesh
Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh MLAs 1998–2003
Himachal Pradesh MLAs 2003–2007