Winning the polls to the Shimla Municipal Corporation will give Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu a shot in the arm as a defeat would not have augured well for his government. (Image: @Himachal Congress/Twitter)
Out of 34 wards, Congress managed to win 24 while BJP failed to even touch the two-digit number winning nine seats. The CPI bagged one ward. In the 2017 elections, BJP won 17 seats, while Congress ended up with 12
Barely five months after it dethroned the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress on Thursday wrested the Shimla Municipal Corporation as well winning the high-stakes poll battle for one of the oldest civic bodies in the country. The win will give chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu a shot in the arm as a defeat would not have augured well for his government. The BJP had managed to win the civic body elections last time around and was hoping to repeat that but an all-out campaign by the state Congress unit seems to have kept it at bay.
While the elections were held on Tuesday, the counting of votes for the 34 wards of the municipal corporation took place amid tight security on Thursday. Out of 34 wards, the Congress managed to bag 24 while the BJP failed to even touch the two-digit number winning nine seats even as the CPI got one. In the 2017 elections, while the BJP had won 17 seats, the Congress ended up with 12.
In a tight contest, the Congress had won the assembly polls in November last year. The win will give a big boost to the chief minister as the party gears up for next year’s Lok Sabha elections. “The win has further consolidated his position in the party. He had been part of the campaign and he was seen as a face of the party in the polls. As a run-up to the assembly polls, there was a lot of factionalism and, even while picking him for the CM post, there were some rumblings. This victory will surely cement his authority,” said a senior party leader.
The Shimla municipal areas take care of three assembly segments with two of their MLAs finding place in the Sukhu-led cabinet. Apart from the CM, even other ministers like Vikramaditya Singh had campaigned vigorously for the civic body polls. Among other prominent leaders were Surinder Chauhan from Chotta Shimla ward, who is being considered a frontrunner for the post of mayor.
The BJP leadership in the state has taken a severe blow from the defeat. “A win could have sort of compensated for the assembly loss, given that this civic body is the most prestigious and oldest in the state. Several party bigwigs like Anurag Thakur had campaigned for the party. This loss will surely hurt,” said a senior BJP leader.
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