In crucial Kangra region, Congress bags 10 out of 15 seats

The BJP bagged four seats. An Independent, who was formerly with the BJP, got one seat

Kullu: Congress workers celebrates the party's victory in Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, in Kullu, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. (PTI Photo)

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The Congress won 10 out of the 15 seats in the decisive Kangra region of Himachal Pradesh in the 2022 Assembly elections, with the BJP bagging four seats and an Independent getting one.

Considered the state’s weathervane in political circles, Kangra, the largest valley in the state, has historically voted for winning parties, and has also been referred to as the “kingmaker”. The BJP’s slogan of “Riwaaz Badalna Hai (let’s change the tradition)” did not seem to have much impact in the region and the state, which stuck to its tradition of bipolar politics.

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In 2017, the BJP had won 11 seats and went on to form the government. The previous Congress government won 10 seats here in 2012. This time, the Congress won in Fatehpur, Indora, Jawali, Nagrota, Dharamshala, Jaisinghpur, Palampur, Baijnath, Jawalamukhi, and Shahpur. The BJP won in Nurpur, Jaswant Paragpur, Kangra and Sullah. Independent candidate Hoshyar Singh won from the Dehra seat.

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The BJP’s Ranbir Singh Nikku won with a margin of 18,863 votes against the Congress’s Ajay Mahajan. After instances of infighting for a ticket here, the BJP moved Cabinet minister and sitting MLA Rakesh Pathania to the Fatehpur constituency in an attempt to quell the tensions. However, this might not have completely paid off in Fathehpur, where the Congress’s Bhawani Singh Pathania defeated Rakesh with a close margin of 8,000 votes.

The region also saw multiple neck-and-neck contests resulting in slim margins. In Indora, the Congress’s Malendar Rajan bagged 27,183 votes and defeated BJP MLA Reeta Dhiman by a margin of 1,824 votes. Similarly, in Jawali, the Congress’s Chander Kumar polled 37,220 votes and defeated the BJP’s Sanjay Guleria with a margin of 2,631 votes. Here, the BJP did not give a ticket to sitting MLA Arjun Singh. While he did not contest as an Independent, his set of supporters do not seem to have helped the BJP’s cause in the constituency either.

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Singh, a sitting MLA from Dehra, won the election from there by securing 22,653 votes and defeating his nearest rival, Rajesh Sharma of the Congress, by a margin of 4,114 votes. Singh, who had also won as an Independent in 2017, went on to become close to incumbent Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. He joined the BJP in June this year, but decided to contest as an Independent again as the BJP did not give him a ticket.

Cabinet minister, Bikram Singh Thakur, who was embroiled in a controversy for appearing live in a virtual event along with Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Ram Rahim Singh, won in Jaswant Paragpur with a margin of 1,871 votes against the Congress’s Surinder Singh Mankotia. From Jawalamukhi, the Congress’s Sanjay Singh Rattan defeated BJP’s Ravinder Ravi by a margin of 6,070 votes. In Sullah, the BJP’s Vipin Singh Parmar defeated his nearest rival, the Independent Jagjiwan Paul, with a margin of 6, 802 votes.The Jaisinghpur seat saw Congress’s Yadwinder Goma defeating BJP’s Ravindra Dhiman by a margin of 2,594 votes.

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Congress’s Nagrota candidate Raghbir Singh Bali defeated sitting BJP MLA Arun Kumar Mehra by a margin of 15,870 votes by pitching his campaign on his father GS Bali, who had been a transport minister. In Kangra, the BJP’s Pawan Kumar Kajal polled 34,585 votes and defeated Congress leader Surendra Kumar Kaku with a margin of 19,670 votes. Kajal had given a jolt to the Congress when he joined the BJP in August this year. He has also been appointed the party’s state working committee president, an elevation resented by a faction within the party. In Shahpur, social justice and empowerment minister Sarveen Chaudhary was defeated with a margin of 11,951 votes by Congress’s Kewal Singh Pathania. The Dharamshala seat was reclaimed by former minister and Congress candidate Sudhir Sharma, who won with a margin of 30,000 votes.

Congress candidate Ashish Butail polled 29,980 votes and defeated BJP’s Trilok Kapoor in Palampur. In Baijnath, Congress candidate Kishori Lal polled just about 28,000 votes, defeating BJP sitting MLA Mulk Raj Premi, who had earlier defeated Lal in 2017.