The campaigning for the three Assembly bypolls in Himachal Pradesh constituencies of Dehra, Nalagarh and Hamirpur concluded yesterday. Voters in the three seats will cast their ballots today to elect new representatives.
The bypolls were necessitated after three Independent MLAs from the constituencies – Hoshyar Singh from Dehra, KL Thakur from Nalagarh and Ashish Sharma from Hamirpur – resigned from their seats in March to join the state’s main opposition party, the BJP. They are now contesting the bypolls on BJP tickets.
It’s a crucial time for the ruling Congress as well, with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu having a personal stake in the Dehra contest. His wife Kamlesh Thakur is making her electoral debut from the seat against two-time MLA Hoshyar Singh. The CM and the party have thrown their full weight behind Kamlesh Thakur, seeing the bypoll as an important test for the new leadership in the state.
Campaigning saw both the BJP and Congress engage in intense campaigning. While the BJP attempted to highlight the state government’s alleged failures, the Congress emphasized its development agenda. Senior leaders from both sides aggressively campaigned in the constituencies.
Around 2.59 lakh voters will decide the fate of 21 candidates across the three seats on Sunday. The results may give indications about public sentiments but are unlikely to impact the state government which currently has a comfortable majority. The real impact could be political, with the polls seen as a report card on the new power equations in the state.
