Anurag Thakur Looking For Fifth Consecutive Term From Hamirpur (Image: X/@ianuragthakur)

The Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh is all set for the electoral showdown. The constituency is considered a stronghold of the BJP. Hamirpur will be the key battleground as sitting BJP MP and Union Minister Anurag Thakur is contesting for the fifth time.

Anurag Singh Thakur is currently serving as the Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs, and Information and Broadcasting in the second PM Narendra Modi”s cabinet. Anurag Thakur, son of the BJP”s Himachal Pradesh veteran and two-time chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, was a cricketer before entering politics. The BJP leader reportedly played one Ranji Trophy match for Himachal Pradesh in 2000. He also served as the President of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA).

In 2011, he became BCCI joint secretary and was elected to the post of BCCI president in 2016. However, he was removed as BCCI president by the Supreme Court in a landmark decision. Notably, he was the youngest BCCI president post-Independence.

In the 2008 byelection, Anurag Thakur won the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat with a record margin of nearly 1.75 lakh votes. He retained the constituency in the 2009, 2014, and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Since 1998, the BJP has held the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat. In the previous general elections, he defeated his nearest rival, Ram Lal Thakur of Congress, by a significant margin of 3,99,572 votes.

Within Parliament, the BJP leader has served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT and Member of the Public Accounts Committee. In 2018, Anurag Thakur was appointed the BJP’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, becoming the youngest to assume the post.

It is worth mentioning that in 2016, Anurag Thakur joined the Territorial Army as a lieutenant. In 2021, he became the first serving MP to be appointed as Captain in the Territorial Army.