Shimla : Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal reached Sirmaur district late Saturday to participate in the decades old annual Renuka fair attending which, according to a local belief, ensures long tenure in a government post.
It’s believed that if any chief minister or governor misses the fair, he tends to lose his post before the next year’s fair.
A number of state governors and chief ministers have followed the tradition of attending the annual fair.
Temple priests of Lord Parshuram said they have a list of chief ministers and governors who did not participate in the fair and lost their posts within a few months.
In the closing ceremony of the fair in 2009, then governor, the late Prabha Rau did not participate. But within a few months she was transferred to Rajasthan.
Likewise, former five-time chief minister and Congress leader Virbhadra Singh could not participate in the inaugural ceremony of the fair in November 2007 due to some engagements. His party lost power in less than a month after the fair.
Political observers said Dhumal reached the fair, though late in the evening, as he did not want any trouble.
Dhumal earlier was to reach the fair site in an official chopper from state capital Shimla but the Election Commission barred him from using the official machinery in view of the model code of conduct coming into force in Sirmaur district due to by-poll in an assembly constituency. He later reached the fair in a car.
The week-long Renuka fair will conclude Nov 10 with the holy dip in the Renuka Lake, some 35 km from district headquarters Nahan.
IANS
