BJP Announces Candidates for Himachal Pradesh By-Elections
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The Central Election Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced the candidates for the upcoming by-elections to six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh, to be held along with the Lok Sabha elections. BJP has fielded candidates from all six constituencies where the seats were vacated by Congress rebels.
Sudhir Sharma will contest from the Dharamshala constituency, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul-Spiti, Rajendra Rana from Sujanpur, Indu Dutt Lakhanpal from Badsar, Chaitanya Sharma from Gagret, and Devinder Kumar Butta from Kutlehar.
Reacting to the allotment of tickets to Congress defectors, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu expressed his dismay, stating that it proves BJP’s involvement in horse-trading. He added that the people of the state will teach BJP a lesson.
It is noteworthy that six disqualified Congress legislators and three independent legislators had joined BJP in New Delhi last Saturday. Central Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur and Opposition Leader Jairam Thakur were present during their induction into BJP. However, the resignations of the independent legislators have not been approved by the Assembly Speaker yet. The situation regarding their seats will become clear later.
After the 2022 Assembly elections, Congress had 40 members in the 68-member state assembly, while BJP had 25 legislators. Three seats were held by independents. Despite passing the Finance Bill, Congress legislators who were not present in the house were declared ineligible. The independents have also resigned from their positions. After the approval of the resignations, there will be 59 legislators in the Assembly.
**When will the By-Elections be Held in Himachal Pradesh?**
Voting for the four Lok Sabha seats and the seventh phase of by-elections in Himachal Pradesh will take place on June 1st. On the same day, by-elections will also be conducted in six assembly constituencies. These are the same six assembly constituencies from which Congress declared six rebel legislators ineligible. The results will be announced on June 4th. The election notification for the state will be issued on May 7th. The last date for filing nominations for Lok Sabha elections is May 14th. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on May 15th. Candidates can withdraw their names by May 17th. The same process will be followed for the by-elections in the six assembly constituencies.
