HP: Six file nominations for Pachhad Assemby bypolls

Six candidates filed their papers on Monday on the last day for nominations for the Pachhad Assembly bypolls, an election official said. The BJP has fielded co-convenor of the IT cell of the state Bharatiya Janata Mahila Morcha (BJMM) Reena Kashyap from the Pachhad (SC) constituency while the Congress has pitted Gangu Ram Musafir against her.

The candidates filed their papers in the office of Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Rajgarh. Reena Kashyap filed her nomination as BJP candidate in the presence of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and MP Suresh Kashyap.

The chief minister also led a roadshow, held in support of the BJP candidate before she filed her nomination. Musafir filed his nomination on Monday as Congress candidate. State Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore led a procession in support of the party candidate.

Ashish Sikta and Dayal Pyari, both BJP rebels, filed nominations as independent candidates. Surender Pal and Pawan Kumar also filed their papers as independent candidates.

Dinesh Arya filed his papers as Musafir's "covering candidate". District Election Officer and Sirmour Deputy Commissioner R K Paruthi said the scrutiny of nominations will take place on October 1 and the last date for withdrawal of nomination is October 3.

Addressing a gathering after leading the roadshow in Pachhad, Chief Minister Thakur exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win the bypolls in Himachal Pradesh. He said the BJP will win Pachhad and Dharamshala assembly seats with thumping margin. The two seats fell vacant after sitting BJP MLAs Suresh Kashyap (Pachhad) and Kishan Kapoor (Dharamshala) were elected to the Lok Sabha.

Voting for the two seats will be held on October 21 and the results will be declared on October 24. Thakur said the state Congress was "issueless" and is a "completely divided house".

He said the recent parliamentary election results show that the people of Himachal Pradesh are with the BJP and its "people-friendly" policies. In the 2019 general election, the BJP won all the Lok Sabha seats in the state with record margins.

The chief minister said the BJP was contesting on the issues of leadership of Prime Minister Narender Modi, policies of Union government and 20 months' performance of the Himachal Pradesh government. Earlier, Thakur arrived Rajgarh by road from Shimla. Due to bad weather, his helicopter could not take off from Shimla. BJP workers and supporters thronged Rajgarh in large numbers, braving heavy rains.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)