In IPL season, cricket is the talk in a constituency far away from South Africa. The district Youth Congress here has bowled a five-question googly to counter the cricket-star image and ‘cricket-centric’ campaign of Anurag Thakur, Himachal Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal’s son who is seeking re-election from Hamirpur.

In remote Jamli village, the jeans-clad Anurag Thakur, who also heads the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, speaks of bringing international stadiums to Himachal, sending three players to the IPL and trying to place the state on the cricket map. “The Congress failed to ensure security for the IPL due to which Himachal lost business of Rs 300 crore,” the 34-year-old claims.

However, it is this cricket talk that the Youth Congress here is targeting through its ad campaign titled ‘Ye aarop nahi sawal hai’ (These are questions and not accusations). The Youth Congress’s questions for Dhumal Junior start with why non-Himachalis were being promoted in the state Ranji team which has six players from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Mumbai, a coach from Jalandhar and a captain from Haryana. “Is it not true that after assuming the post of HPCA president and selection committee chairman, you selected yourself so that you could make Rs 30 lakh annually as travel allowance and dearness allowance by becoming a member of the national selection committee?” goes another one.

But the bouncer comes next: “Is it true that you played just one Ranji match and went for a duck after facing just seven balls”. The last one takes a dig at his claim of making the Dharamsala cricket stadium a reality. “The land was of the government and money of the Board of Cricket Control in India. Maal malka da, mashuri company di, baat Himachal ki, fayada Punjab ka,” it adds.

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