Himachal CM Sukhu performs ‘Purnahuti’ at annual Bhandara

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 24 (ANI): The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, performed the ‘Purnahuti’ in the havan of the annual Bhandara, which was organised by the Himachal Pradesh secretariat employees and the Religious Sabha on Wednesday.

Prayers were made for the peace and prosperity of the state.

The CM commended the efforts of the Religious Sabha and said that such religious functions would go a long way in promoting collective harmony and well-being within the Secretariat community.

“All the officers and employees of the Secretariat are members of my family, and being the head of the family, I have come to participate in this function, “said CM Sukhu.

Education Minister Rohit Thakur, MLA Neeraj Nayyar, Congress leader Surinder Mankotia, OSD to Chief Minister Ritesh Kapret, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, President of Secretariat Employees Association Sanjeev Sharma, office bearers of Sabha and other dignitaries were also present amongst others at the havan.

Earlier, on July 22, CM Sukhu’s wife, Kamlesh Thakur, had won the assembly by-elections from the Dehra constituency by defeating Hoshyar Singh of the BJP.

Expressing satisfaction over the by-poll results, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, “This is the victory of people over money power. The voters have delivered a strong rebuke to the politics of horse-trading and have voted to maintain political integrity in the state. It had been 25 years since a Congress candidate won in Dehra.”

“In Nalagarh, too, the candidate secured a significant victory. The election outcome has sent a clear message to the entire country and in the future, no candidate of any party in Himachal Pradesh will dare engage him or her in horse-trading for the next 50 years,” he further said.

The results of the assembly by-polls came as a setback for the BJP, where the party won only two of the 13 seats, with the INDIA bloc winning 10 seats and an independent candidate winning one seat across seven states across the country.