BJP whitewashed in Himachal Pradesh bypolls

SHIMLA: The ruling BJP drew a blank in four bypolls in Himachal Pradesh — Mandi parliamentary constituency as well as Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly constituencies — on Tuesday. The results are significant for the two parties as Himachal is scheduled to hold assembly polls late next year and the four byelections involved 20 assembly constituencies. While both parties faced dissidence on every seat this time, it was the BJP that came off worst in the fight.
Terming the bypolls as a “semi-final” and a precursor of the party's victory in the assembly elections next year, Himachal Congress president Kuldeep Singh Rathore demanded the resignation of the chief minister on moral grounds after the BJP defeat. Congress managed to retain the assembly seats of Arki and Fatehpur and wrested Jubbal-Kotkhai from BJP. It also took the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency from BJP.
Conceding defeat, CM Jai Ram Thakur said the BJP will introspect on the causes which led to the party’s defeat. Alleging that some BJP workers had worked against the party candidates, he added that “action would be taken against them.” Thakur had been confident of winning the Mandi parliamentary seat, which the BJP had won in 2014 and 2019. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting MP Ram Swaroop Sharma in March.
There were six candidates in the fray in Mandi, but the main contest remained between Congress’s Pratibha Singh, wife of former chief minister late Virbhadra Singh, and BJP’s candidate, Kargil war hero Brigadier Khushal Thakur.
Congress played the emotional card by telling the voters that every vote polled for Pratibha Singh would be a tribute to the six-time CM Virbhadra Singh by highlighting the slogan “Vote Nahi Shraddhanjali.” When the result was declared finally on Tuesday, Pratibha Singh defeated Brigadier Khushal Thakur by a margin of 7,490 votes. Pratibha secured 3,69,565 votes against 3,62,075 polled by Brigadier Khushal Thakur. Interestingly, Pratibha Singh’s margin of victory was lower than 12,661 votes polled under NOTA.
In the Fatehpur assembly seat, Congress had fielded Bhawani Singh Pathania, son of former MLA Sujan Singh Pathania, while BJP opted for Baldev Thakur after denying ticket to former Rajya Sabha MP Kripal Singh Parmar. Pathania, who secured 24,449 votes, defeated Thakur by a margin of 5,789 votes. Independent candidate and former MP Rajan Sushant secured 12,927 votes.
From Arki, Congress fielded Sanjay Awasthi, and this led to a revolt by Rajender Thakur, who resigned from the party. The BJP, too, faced dissidence after fielding Rattan Singh Pal and denying a ticket to former MLA Govind Sharma.
In Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly seat, BJP had denied a ticket to Chetan Bragta, the son of sitting MLA Narinder Singh Bragta whose death necessitated the byelection. Bragta contested as an independent but lost to Congress’s Neelam Saraik by a margin of 6,293 votes.