Setting all the speculations to rest the Octogenarian Minister for Irrigation Public Health, Smt. Vidya Stokes has decided to call it a day. Smt. Stokes told a local daily in Shimla that she would not contest the upcoming assembly elections as her children urged her to spend more time with them. She also told the local daily that naming a politician successor is difficult as she felt that no one among the probable is yet ready for such a big responsibility. There can be no better candidate from Theog than Shri Virbhadra Singh, who could do justice to her constituency, she added.
Her Political Journey:
It all started when she was elected to the State Assembly in 1974 (by-election) for the first time; re-elected in 1982, 1985, 1990, and 1998 from Theog and in 2003 and 2007 from the adjoining Kumarsain constituency on the Congress ticket. She held the Ministry of State for Rural Development (Independent Charge) in 1984-85. She became the first lady Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly in 1985 and held this position till 1990 and also remained the leader of the Congress Legislature Group, from 1990-92. In 2003, when Congress came to power in the state she was allotted the key ministry of MPP & Power. From 2008 to 2012 she also remained Leader of Opposition in the House. Smt. Stokes only lost the assembly election twice--in 1977 and 1993. In addition to this, she also remained Administrator Asian Games, 1972; President, Indian Women’s Hockey Federation from 1984 to 2009; Vice-President, Asian Hockey Federation, 1986 to 1994. She pioneered the merger of men and women Hockey in India in 2010.
What should we make of Vidya Stokes's legacy?
It’s a question that people will certainly dwell upon. We must measure the leaders by how much they altered society as a whole. It would be unfair if we don’t reach a complex and balanced picture of Stokes's legacy. To start, she inherited the rich political and social legacy of Stokes's family that certainly helped her. She certainly succeeded in carving a niche for herself in politics defying all the odd of patriarch political ecosystem (Himachal Pradesh Assembly has only 3 women). At the macro level, no major reforms were ushered in having held the key ministries like MPP & Power, IT, Horticultural for a full term. All these sectors offered enormous scope for reforms; certainly, an opportunity was missed as Himachal has rich resources of Power (Hydro Wind, Solar), Horticulture and IT (Enormous Human Capital). At the micro-level too, coming from a place that had all the basics of the food processing ecosystem in place and had enormous potential for tourism, certain reforms could have done wonders to the local economy and society at large. An opportunity was surely missed to catapult the fruit-producing area into a food processing hub. She should have taken a cue from her father-in –law-Late Satyananad Stokes in this regard. No doubt, she was instrumental in bringing some private investment to her constituency that provided seasonal employment for few and must be credited for that.
Among the women in her constituency, she succeeded in webbing a bond of affection and won their heart- votes too. However, the irony is she failed to extend a ladder to the able women in her constituency or in the party for that matter. Her remarkable achievement was that despite being in active politics for more than four decades she kept a clean image. At the latter half of her career, she barely had any connection with the people of her constituency barring a few.
Smt. Stokes did not set the political landscape of Himachal politics on fire; however, she certainly stood tall in this patriarch dominant political landscape. She tried her best to bring prosperity and development to her region whether she succeeded or not it’s up to the people to judge. The jury will be still out on her decisions: Be it not appointing a political successor or making way for the aged Virbhadra Singh from her constituency. Some say that she is leaving the political stage by keeping the people of her constituency with a divided opinion-- as she often did.
What lies ahead for her?
Some sources are saying she will be appointed as Chairperson Farmer Commission. However, the Commission is yet to be formed, moreover the Himachal Government has filed an SLP in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court decision to form the Commission. Now, the election has been announced in the state and the code of Conduct has been enforced this seems highly unlikely. Whether she is appointed as Chairperson of the Commission or not only time and the outcome of the upcoming assembly elections will tell. In the meantime, life must be lived forward and we should respect her decision not to contest the upcoming election this time around
