Phunchog Rai
Minister of Health and Family Planning, Government of Himachal Pradesh
(1993-98)
Minister of Tribal Affairs, Government of Himachal Pradesh
(1993-98)
MLA from Lahaul and Spiti assembly constituency
(1990-92)
ConstituencyLahaul and Spiti
Personal details
Born1944
Lari village, Spiti valley, Himachal Pradesh, India
Political party Indian National Congress
Alma materPunjab University
OccupationPolitician

Phunchog Rai (born 1944) is a politician from Himachal Pradesh, India, and a member of the Indian National Congress Party.

Personal life and education

Rai hails from village Lari in the Spiti valley.[1][2] He matriculated from the Government High School in Manali in 1965, and did graduation from Punjab University at Chandigarh.[1] The former IAS officer Deepak Sanan mentions Rai's father, Dorje Chhering, as an authority on the routes, water sources, and lifestyle of Spiti.[3]

Political career

Rai served as an elected representative in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Lahaul and Spiti assembly constituency from 1990 to 1998. In 1990, he was elected as an MLA, during the second tenure of Shanta Kumar as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh (1990-1992).

Rai was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1993, this time under the second tenure of Virbhadra Singh as Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh (1993-1998). In this period, he served as a cabinet minister.[4] As minister, Rai held two portfolios, those of Tribal Affairs and Health and Family Planning.[5][6]

In the 11th Legislative Assembly Elections of Himachal Pradesh held in 2007, Rai lost against Dr. Ram Lal Markanda for the Lahaul and Spiti seat.[7]

Electoral performance

2007 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election : Lahaul and Spiti
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
BJP Dr. Ram Lal Markanda 9,117 54.16% Increase42.41
INC Phunchog Rai 6,951 41.30% Decrease15.40
BSP Bir Singh 726 4.31% New
Margin of victory 2,166 12.87% Decrease15.71
Turnout 16,832 73.80% Decrease3.90
Registered electors 22,809 Increase6.23
BJP gain from INC Swing
1993 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election : Lahaul and Spiti[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
INC Phunchog Rai 6,509 55.44% Increase4.89
BJP Hishe Dogia 5,067 43.16% Increase3.83
Independent Shiv Chand Thakur 164 1.40% New
Margin of victory 1,442 12.28% Increase1.05
Turnout 11,740 63.06% Decrease8.76
Registered electors 18,784 Increase3.58
INC hold Swing
1990 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election : Lahaul and Spiti[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
INC Phunchog Rai 6,533 50.55% Decrease45.76
BJP Hishe Dogia 5,082 39.33% New
CPI(M) Amar Singh 1,254 9.70% New
Margin of victory 1,451 11.23% Decrease81.40
Turnout 12,923 72.04% Increase12.11
Registered electors 18,134 Increase19.50
INC hold Swing
1977 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election : Lahaul and Spiti[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
JP Thakur Devi Singh 5,649 76.26% New
Independent Shiv Chand Thakur 1,548 20.90% New
Independent Phunchog Rai 211 2.85% New
Margin of victory 4,101 55.36% Increase44.16
Turnout 7,408 55.53% Decrease24.37
Registered electors 13,759 Increase11.82
JP gain from INC Swing Increase20.65

Other works

  • Rai has been on the Expert Advisory Committee for the development of Buddhist/Tibetan culture and art in the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.[11]
  • In 1996, Rai was present as a minister at the 1,000th anniversary of the Tabo monastery in Spiti, whereat the 14th Dalai Lama also delivered Kalachakra teachings and initiations.[12]
  • Rai wrote the foreword to the book Tribal Melodies of Himachal Pradesh by Manorama Sharma (1998).[13]
  • The 'Presidential Address' Rai delivered at a seminar on petroglyphs in the Spiti valley has been published in the book Rediscovering Spiti: a Historical and Archaeological Study (2017).[14][15]

References

  1. 1 2 "Affidavit to be furnished by the candidate before the returning officer for election to the Vidhan Sabha". myneta.info. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  2. "Preliminary Exploration at Lari Village: A Petroglyph Site in Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India" (PDF). Kalakalpa. V (1): 177. 2020.
  3. Sanan, Deepak; Swadi, Dhanu (1998). Exploring Kinnaur and Spiti in the Trans-Himalaya. New Delhi: Indus Publishing Company. p. 7.
  4. "Election results". Election Commission of India, New Delhi.
  5. Banach, Benti (2010). A Village Called Self-Awareness, Life and Times in the Spiti Valley. Kathmandu: Vajra Publications. p. 94.
  6. "Purv mantri ke ganv mein abhi bhi mobile signal nahi". Khabar Himachal. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  7. "Himachal Pradesh election results".
  8. "Statistical Report on General Election, 1993 to the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (pdf) on 11 January 2012.
  9. "Statistical Report on General Election, 1990 to the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (pdf) on 14 January 2012.
  10. "Statistical Report on General Election, 1977 to the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh" (PDF). Archived from the original (pdf) on 19 March 2016.
  11. "Expert Advisory Committee" (PDF). 14 August 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  12. "Per l 1000 anni del monastero di Taboo" (PDF). 1996. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  13. Sharma, Manorma (1998). Tribal Melodies of Himachal Pradesh: Gaddi folk music. APH Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7024-912-2.
  14. Service, Tribune News. "A journey to Spiti and Sutlej biosphere". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  15. Chauhan, Hari (2017). Rediscovering Spiti: A Historical and Archaeological Study. Himachal State Museum, Department of Language & Culture, Himachal Pradesh. ISBN 978-93-5279-899-5.
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