Kullu: Former five-time MLA and ex-minister Major Vijay Singh Mankotia (retd) died of a heart attack at his ancestral home in Tiara, Kangra district, on Tuesday morning. He was 87.Maj Mankotia remained a key figure in Himachal Pradesh’s politics for more than two decades.He began his political career after retiring from the army, winning the Shahpur assembly seat as an independent candidate in 1982. He again won from Shahpur in 1985 on a Congress ticket.Maj Mankotia left Congress to join Janata Dal in 1990 and won the assembly elections again that year on a JD ticket. Mankotia was re-elected from Shahpur constituency on a Congress ticket in 1993.He lost the Shahpur election in 1998, but made a comeback in 2003 and won on a Congress ticket.Maj Mankotia also served as a minister in the Himachal Pradesh govt twice, from 1995 to 1998 and from March 2003 to July 2004, and handled portfolios like tourism, civil aviation and law. He also served as vice-chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation.Maj Mankotia again left Congress in 2006 and contested the 2007 assembly election from Dharamshala on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket. He fought outside Shahpur for the first time that year and lost.Maj Mankotia contested the 2012 election on a Congress ticket, but lost to BJP’s Sarveen Chaudhary. He again contested as an independent in 2017, finishing second behind Chaudhary. He joined BJP in 2022 and gradually withdrew from electoral politics.Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Union minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, former Union minister Anurag Thakur and leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur condoled the death. They recalled his service as an Army officer and his long public life as a legislator and minister, describing his death as a loss to Himachal Pradesh.
