Shimla, Nov 2 (UNI) Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday, while 'humbly' accepting the verdict given by people in the four bye-elections of Himachal Pradesh, did not miss the opportunity to blame party infighting and price rise for the crushing defeat it received in the hands of Congress.

Responding to the defeat of one Lok Sabha seat and three Vidhan Sabha Constituencies in the state, Thakur said that people have voted against price rise, which was in fact, a global phenomenon.

Congratulating the winning candidates of bye-elections, the Chief Minister said BJP lost due to infighting and anti-party activities, which was partially visible and the party should also find out whether any worker or leader defied them in the polls.

Terming the victory of Congress in Mandi Parliamentary seat as a routine affair, he said former Chief minister Virbhadra Singh had lost all Parliamentary seats in the Lok Sabha general elections in 2014, when he had completed two years in power. The Chief Minister claimed that Bharatiya Janta Party lost the Mandi Parliamentary seat with a narrow margin.

He said, "After four years of my Government, BJP lost Mandi Parliamentary bye-election. The party will introspect over the defeat and incumbency against any Government in office for four years is inevitable.

"These results are not according to our expectations. We will try to come up to the expectations and aspirations of the people of the state and work with renewed zeal and dedication to perform better in Assembly elections in 2022," he added.

UNI ML RJ