This time, it’s a neck-and-neck contest in Himachal Pradesh, with both BJP and Congress trying to find a headway. In a poll, where every seat matters, the focus is on some of the key candidates, who have decided to contest as independents.
Hiteshwar Singh (Banjar)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gave ticket to Maheshwar Singh, who comes from Kullu’s Royal family. Singh had earlier won from the Himachal Lokhit Party, which had later merged with the BJP. However, later, Maheshwar’s ticket was cancelled when his son Hiteshwar decided to contest as an Independent from Banjar after the BJP refused to field him. Later, the party high command somehow managed to get Maheshwar to convince his son to not fight. Eventually, the party dropped Maheshwar and gave the ticket to Narotam Sigh, a teacher. Hiteshwar contested as an Independent against the BJP’s Surinder Shourie and Khimi Ram, former BJP president who joined the Congress earlier this year.
Kirpal Singh Parmar (Fatehpur)
Kirpal Singh Parmar a ground-level BJP worker, had started and rose through the ranks in the district and state units. Later, Parmar became a Rajya Sabha MP and was appointed the vice president of the state BJP. However, he was denied a ticket last year during the Fatehpur bypoll. Later this year, he resigned from his post mentioning in the party’s state leadership. Later, Baldev Thakur, who was fielded in his place, lost to Congress’s Bhawani Pathania by more than 5,800 votes. After he ignored this time as well, Parmar told locals in Fatehpur that was not rewarded by the party for decades of service.
Gangu Ram Musafir and Dayal Pyari (Pachhad)
The Pachhad constituency in Sirmaur, which is a reserved seat for Scheduled Caste (SC) communities, is witnessing a fight between two women. Incumbent BJP MLA Reena Kashyap faced Dayal Payari, who lost as a BJP rebel last time. She contested on the Congress ticket this time. Senior BJP leader and Urban Development Suresh Kashyap hails from the region. Dayal Payari was seen as the BJP frontrunner for a by-election in 2019. She was allegedly denied the ticket by the camp of Suresh Kashyap and CM Jai Ram Thakur as she belongs to former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal’s group. The BJP instead fielded Reena Kashyap, a Zila Parishad member, for the bypolls, reported Indian Express/
Congress rebel candidate Gangu Ram Musafir is also contesting from Pacchad as an Independent.
KL Thakur (Nalagarh)
After being denied a ticket from Nalgarh — from where he had won on a BJP ticket — KL Thakur talked about his decision to contest as an Independent and asked people: “What is my fault?”. Thakur contested on a BJP ticket and won from Nalagarh.
Indu Verma (Theog)
Indu Verma has been associated with politics for the last two decades. She is the wife of three-time MLA Rakesh Verma who passed died of a heart attack two years ago. Rakesh Verma won from the Theog constituency twice as an Independent and once on a BJP ticket.
With Indu joining the Congress in July, the party hoped to boost its chances in the Theog region as the family still has a support base in the region. But former Haryana Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore lobbied for a ticket from Theog and was fielded from the constituency. Resentment about not getting the ticket prompted Indu Verma to contest as an Independent. Also in the fray is Vijay Pal Khachi, the son of veteran Congress leader JBL Khachi. A loss in the key constituency in Himachal’s apple belt will be a big blow to the Congress
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