The BJP suffered byelection defeats in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.
The Congress party won all three assembly seats up for grabs in Himachal Pradesh’s byelections on Saturday. Mandi, a critical Lok Sabha constituency won by the BJP by over a lakh votes in 2019, is also in the lead.
It is a significant defeat for the BJP in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, two northern states that it governs with the help of its allies in the northeast. In Haryana, INLD candidate Abhay Chautala has developed a significant lead against BJP rival Gobind Kanda.
In byelections held on Saturday in Himachal Pradesh, where general elections are scheduled for next year, the Congress party won all three assembly seats up for grabs. Mandi, a vital Lok Sabha constituency won by the BJP by more than four lakh votes in 2019, is also ahead.
When it came to the apple-growing region of Jubbal-Kotkhai, the Congress controlled Fatehpur and Arki while the BJP took control. The BJP declined to issue a ticket to Chetan Singh Bragta, the son of sitting MLA Narinder Singh Bragta, triggering an election. The Congress took the seat.
The BJP nominated Neelam Saraik, an Independent who ran against Narinder Bragta in 2017.
Dissatisfied with the BJP’s performance, Chetan Singh Bragta ran as an Independent candidate, splitting the anti-BJP support and favouring the Congress. Last time, Rohit Thakur, a Congressman who had already served in the district twice, won. The BJP’s Jubbal Kothkai candidate forfeited her security deposit this time.
The great prize for the Congress will be Mandi’s Lok Sabha seat, where Pratibha Singh, the wife of late Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is running for re-election. The BJP’s choice to fight her is Kargil war hero Khushal Thakur.
The seat became vacant after BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma committed suicide on March 17 at his official house in New Delhi.
She ran in her late husband’s name. Mr. Singh’s son, Vikramaditya Singh, is the state assemblyman for Shimla Rural.
Virbhadra Singh, the longest-serving Chief Minister, having served six terms. He is a well-known politician in his home district and has sat in Lok Sabha five times. The Arki Lok Sabha seat became empty as a result of his death, and by-elections were held to fill it.
