From Solan, Himachal Pradesh — the state's industrial heartland — BJP MP Anurag Thakur fired a pointed broadside at the current Congress government in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, September 24, 2026, warning that existing industries are migrating out of the state rather than new ones coming in.

Posting from Solan, Thakur stated that the Congress administration has failed to provide 'adequate facilities and an industry-friendly environment,' forcing older industrial units to consider relocation even as fresh investment stays away. He placed particular blame on rising electricity tariffs, arguing they have imposed an additional financial burden on manufacturers already operating on thin margins in a hill economy.

The Vajpayee package that built HP's industrial base

Thakur's critique is anchored in a specific historical milestone. During the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the central government extended a special industrial package to Himachal Pradesh — a set of tax concessions and fiscal incentives that triggered large-scale industrialisation across districts including Solan, Baddi, and Nalagarh. That package is widely credited with transforming what had been a predominantly agrarian hill state into a significant pharmaceutical and manufacturing hub.

Thakur noted that successive BJP chief ministers — former Professor Prem Kumar Dhumal and former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur — built on that foundation with state-level policies to attract and retain investment, including efforts to supply power to industrial units at competitive tariffs.

Power tariffs, migration, and the investment gap

The electricity-tariff argument sits at the centre of Thakur's attack. Industries in hill states depend heavily on reliable, affordable power; when tariffs rise, operational costs spike disproportionately compared to plains-based rivals. Thakur contends the current state government has allowed rates to climb without compensatory relief, undercutting the competitiveness of Himachal's industrial zones.

He also flagged the absence of 'expected new investment' — pointing to a gap between the state government's investment promises and on-ground reality in districts like Solan, which has historically been one of the most industrially active corridors in the state.

BJP's opposition playbook — and what the Congress must answer

The Hamirpur MP's statement follows a well-established BJP opposition pattern: contrasting the developmental record of Vajpayee-era central incentives and state BJP governments with what the party frames as Congress inertia on economic management. The argument is especially pointed in a state where industrial employment is a visible, measurable metric — factory closures or relocations generate local headlines in ways that abstract investment figures do not.

The Congress government in Shimla has not publicly responded to the specific claims made at Solan. Any credible rebuttal will need to address industrial output data, actual tariff revision orders, and the current pipeline of investment commitments — numbers that investors in Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh corridors watch closely.

With Himachal Pradesh's industrial zones sitting at a competitive crossroads and neighbouring states aggressively courting the same investors, the question Thakur is raising will not stay political for long — it will show up in jobs data.