Himachal Pradesh By-elections: A Setback for Defecting MLAs

The by-elections for three seats in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly resulted in a loss for two Independent legislators who defected to the BJP. Congress candidates Kamlesh Thakur and Hardeep Singh Bawa secured wins in Dehra and Nalagarh respectively. Ashish Sharma of the BJP managed to retain his seat in Hamirpur.

In a surprising twist in the Himachal Pradesh by-elections, two Independent legislators who defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced defeat. Congress' Kamlesh Thakur and Hardeep Singh Bawa emerged victorious from Dehra and Nalagarh seats respectively, marking a significant win for the ruling party.

Kamlesh Thakur, the wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, won the Dehra seat by a commanding margin of 9,399 votes against BJP's Hoshiyar Singh. Similarly, Bawa, a seasoned Congress leader, defeated BJP rival K L Thakur by 8,990 votes in Nalagarh.

However, BJP's Ashish Sharma secured a narrow victory in the Hamirpur seat with a lead of 1,571 votes over Congress candidate Pushpender Verma. The election results also made history in Himachal Pradesh as it will now have a husband-wife duo in the assembly, and no Independent MLAs for the first time ever.