Congress Triumphs in Himachal Bypolls, Secures Majority in State Assembly

The Congress party successfully won two out of three seats in Himachal Pradesh bypolls, bolstering its strength to 40 seats in the 68-member state assembly. Victories in Dehra and Nalagarh rejuvenated the party's standing, overcoming prior political challenges from cross-voting incidents.

In a significant boost for the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, the party emerged victorious in two of the three bypolls held, securing Dehra and Nalagarh seats. This victory takes the Congress’s total to 40 seats in the 68-member state assembly, reaffirming its prior strength despite recent political turbulence arising from cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls. The BJP managed to secure the Hamirpur seat.

The by-elections were necessitated following the resignation of three independent MLAs who subsequently joined the BJP. Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu’s wife, Kamlesh Thakur, clinched the Dehra seat with a margin of 9,399 votes, marking the first Congress win in the constituency since its creation in 2012 post-delimitation. Thakur polled 32,737 votes against the BJP’s Hoshiyar Singh, who had defected from his independent stance to join the BJP.

In Nalagarh, Congress’s Hardeep Singh Bawa took the lead, whereas the BJP’s sole win came from Hamirpur, the constituency of Chief Minister Sukhu, with candidate Ashish Sharma prevailing by 1,571 votes.

Political analysts noted that the BJP’s decision to nominate former independent MLAs instead of its own stalwarts may have influenced its loss in two seats. Congress leaders, including state party president Pratibha Singh, celebrated the wins, viewing them as an endorsement of the party’s ideology and a testament to the public's confidence in the Congress-led state administration.

With a strengthened presence of 40 seats, the Congress has fortified its position in the state assembly, effectively navigating through the political challenges posed by previous cross-voting incidents in the Rajya Sabha polls. (ANI)