While all arrangements have been made for polling for the by-elections in three Assembly constituencies i.e. Hamirpur, Nalagarh and Dehra in Himachal Pradesh on July 10, the results on July 13 would be watched keenly as Congress has fielded CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife from Dehra Assembly constituency.
The by-elections were held following the resignations of three Independent MLAs Hoshyar Singh (Dehra), KL Thakur (Nalagarh) and Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur) on March 22, who later joined BJP and are now contesting as BJP candidates.
The stakes are high for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu as his wife Kamlesh Thakur is making her electoral debut from Dehra. The Congress is betting big on the CM’s wife, who is pitted against two-time Independent MLA Hoshyar Singh.
BJP has fielded Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra assembly seat, Ashish Sharma from Hamirpur and KL Thakur from Nalagarh while Congress has fielded Pushpendra Verma and Hardeep Singh Bawa from Hamirpur and Nalagarh assembly constituencies.
The BJP is making all-out efforts to woo voters as it is keen to win all three seats after the Independents resigned from the Assembly to fight on the BJP ticket.
Chief Minister Sukhu campaigned vigorously in all three constituencies but devoted much time in Dehra and left no stone unturned to woo voters of Dehra. Former CM Jai Ram Thakur and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur also campaigned extensively in favour of BJP candidates.
Though the outcome of the by-polls will not impact much as Congress already has a clear majority with 38 MLAs in the house of 68 but the Congress, which lost all four LS seats with BJP taking lead in majority Assembly segments , Congress is making all efforts to improve its position through by-polls.