Wondering why leaders of different parties in Himachal Pradesh wear different looking caps? Did it have anything to do with tradition? Or has it been a color code?
According to the locals, it is a part of what is known as ‘cap politics’. hill stateWhich the current Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had vowed to end if he came to power five years ago.
His predecessor, Virbhadra Singh, known as Raja Saheb in Himachal Pradesh, wore a cap commonly used by most of the people of the state in a combination of green and brown. The cap in combination soon became synonymous with Singh’s supporters.
Sushil Sharma, a local businessman from Mandi, a traditional Congress voter, said, “A large section of the people of the state wore a cap with this combination, as would their CM.” He said that it is not just a part of the dress, but a way to extend one’s solidarity towards Raja Saheb.
Color Code
If you have seen people wearing caps, which have a prominent red shade, it is an indicator that they are sympathetic to the former chief minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Prem Kumar Dhumal,
Gobind Thakur, a resident of Shimla, said, “Dhumal has always had a group of his followers, who didn’t mind even changing the government.” Thakur, 65, who has seen both Dhumal and Singh as chief ministers, says the change of government did not affect his loyalty to his cap.
Although Thakur vowed to end the color code system and wore caps of both colours, he often initially said, after taking over as chief minister, the cap politics should end in the state and he was the one to do so. Will be the first person.
Even as chief minister, he has ensured that he wears both of these caps, and at times prefers not to wear either for public functions. Arjun Singh, owner of a fashion store in Shimla’s Mall Road, said, “Caps has also been representative of the region, Shimla and lower Himachal.”
Dinanath Upadhyay, an ardent admirer of Jai Ram Thakur, who owns a stall in Mandi, shows off his red cap, says he has been a follower of Dhumal and appreciates the fact that Thakur does not discriminate between his supporters and others.
Read also | IDiscontent among Himachal Pradesh gardeners, will they spoil BJP’s apple cart in elections?
Thakur has been visiting his tea stall since his student days in 1983 and has stayed even after becoming a minister in the Dhumal-led Bharatiya Janata Party government.
“Whenever he has come to Mandi, I have gone to meet him and he has always welcomed people, even those wearing gray and green caps,” he said.
read all Latest Politics News Here