Dehra assembly by-polls: BJP candidate Hoshiyar Singh arrives to cast his vote

Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 10 (ANI): With the commencement of polling on the Hamirpur, Nalagarh, and Dehra assembly segments in Himachal Pradesh, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Dehra, Hoshiyar Singh, arrived on the booth in the Dehra constituency to cast his vote.

Polling for the Assembly by-polls has started for 13 Assembly constituencies across seven states: Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday. The polling process that started at 7 a.m. will conclude at 6 p.m.

The Hamirpur, Nalagarh, and Dehra assembly segments fell vacant after the Speaker accepted the resignation of three independent MLAs who resigned from the House and joined the BJP.

In the Dehra segment of Kangra district, Kamlesh (53) of the Indian National Congress (INC) who is also the wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukkhu, Hoshiyar Singh (57) of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Independent candidates Sulekha Devi (59), Arun Ankesh Syal (34) and Advocate Sanjay Sharma (56) are in the fray.

According to the official, Ashish Sharma (37) of BJP, Dr Pushpinder Verma (48) of INC, and Independent candidates Pradeep Kumar (58) and Nand Lal Sharma (64) are in the fray from Hamirpur Assembly Constituency.

For the Nalagarh segment, Hardeep Singh Bawa (44) of INC, KL Thakur (64) of BJP, Kishori Lal Sharma (46) of Swabhiman Party, and Independent candidates Gurnam Singh (48), Harpreet Singh (36) and Vijay Singh (36) are in the fray.

Earlier, ahead of bypolls in three Assembly constituencies, Leader of Opposition and former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Tuesday exuded confidence over the victory of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in all three Assembly seats and said that the BJP will win all three Assembly seats in bypolls.

Speaking to ANI, Jairam Thakur claimed that these three by-elections could have been conducted along with the Lok Sabha elections, but CM Sukhu did not let it happen to create influence and pressure.

“These elections are very important. You would have seen the public mandate that was given by the people of Himachal Pradesh in these Lok Sabha elections. We led on 61 of the 68 (assembly) seats. We won all 4 Lok Sabha seats, despite there being a Congress government in the state. These 3 by-elections could have been conducted along with the Lok Sabha elections. But the CM did not let it happen to create influence and pressure. He is trying to influence the elections now. He is making announcements and trying to lure people. Interestingly, CM’s wife is also contesting from one Assembly seat. All limits have been crossed,” Thakur said.

Meanwhile, assembly by-polls are also being held in West Bengal’s Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; Rupauli in Bihar; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh.