In a major setback to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party lost all three Himachal Pradesh Assembly seats that went to bypolls last week. Opposition Congress has won the bypolls with a wide margin. The bypolls were a litmus test for Jai Ram Thakur’s government in the state, following which the BJP leader’s CM chair seems at risk.
Himachal Pradesh is set to hold full Assembly election next year and with BJP losing all three seats, the party leadership might introduce a change of guard in the state.
One of the crucial assembly seats in the bypolls was Mandi. The Lok Sabha seat was contested by the ruling BJP Kargil war hero Brigadier (retd) Khushal Chand Thakur and the Congress'
Pratibha Singh, wife of the late former six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
Pratibha Singh won by 3,65650 votes to Chand Thakur's 3.57 lakh.
The BJP previously held the Mandi seat, and the byelection was called after the death of MP Ram Swaroop Sharma in March.
Notably, Mandi is also the home district of Chief Minister Thakur. BJP brutal defeat will jolt Thakur’s CM chair and enrage the high command.
Ruling BJP earlier had shown full confidence in Jai Ram Thakur’s leadership in Himachal Pradesh, handing over the wheel in his hands. However, now CM has lost from his home district
which has a majority of the "Thakur community."
Demands for Thakur’s removal were voiced by several state MLAs as they were disgruntled with his leadership. Former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal’s camp which was silent for a long
time can now take a dig at current CM and his loyalists following the stunning defeat in bypolls.
Mr Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur, who is serving as Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting in PM Narendra Modi’s cabinet is seen as a
promising CM candidate for Himachal Pradesh.
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The party had also run a high-profile election campaign in recent weeks, with Union Minister Anurag Thakur speaking at rallies and events.
Meanwhile, Jai Ram Thakur’s defeat brings Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President JP Nadda in focus. The BJP top brass also contests elections from Himachal Pradesh’s
Bilaspur.
Aforementioned, assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh are due next year and if JP Nadda too fails to win his home seat, then party leadership would be forced to undertake a major reshuffle.
BJP’s loss in bypolls indicates the re-emergence of Congress in the state.
For more than a decade, Fatehpur has been a Congress stronghold. Sujan Singh Pathania, a party MLA and former minister, died in February, triggering by-elections.
- The Congress wins in Arki, where Sanjay Awasthy led the BJP's Rattan Singh Pal by a wide margin. He has nearly 27,000 votes to the BJP's around 23,00.
The byelection was called due to the death of veteran Congress leader Virbhadra Singh.
- The Congress wins the Jubbal-Kotkhai Assembly seat, where Rohit Thakur (30,000) leads independent candidate Chetan Singh Bragta (27,000). Neelam Seraik of the BJP was a distant third with fewer than 3,000 votes and is set to lose her deposit.
Because sitting BJP MLA Narinder Bragta died in June, a bypoll for this seat was required.