The stage is set for a keen contest between Congress and BJP in Himachal Pradesh as the poll crescendo for Lok Sabha election on four seats and by-poll in six Assembly constituencies in the last phase came to a halt this evening.
The politicians from the state and the star campaigners of BJP and Congress made a last-ditch attempt to woo voters through public meetings and road shows in different parts of Himachal Pradesh.
National Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi held a roadshow in Solan and later paid obeisance at Jakhu temple in Shimla, while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed poll rallies in Hamirpur and Mandi.
As many as 57,11,969 voters, nearly half of them women, will exercise their franchise on June 1 for 37 candidates in the fray.
Twenty-five candidates are contesting the Assembly by-polls in six constituencies spread across the state.
Although the Bahujan Samaj Party has also fielded candidates on four Lok Sabha seats in HP, the main contest is between the traditional rivals- Congress and the BJP.
In 2014 and 2019, the BJP won all four LS seats with good margins.
Though, Mandi seat was later won by Congress party’s Pratibha Singh, in the by-poll held after BJP MP, Ram Swaroop Sharma’s demise in 2012.
Mandi Parliamentary constituency has been the hot seat in Himachal Pradesh and has almost become a battle of prestige between BJP nominee Bollywood actress, Kangana Ranaut and Congress candidate, Public Works Minister in HP and two-time MLA, Vikramaditya Singh.
In Hamirpur, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports and four times MP in a row, Anurag Thakur is seeking re-election in Lok Sabha.
He faces a new entrant of Congress in the Lok Sabha battlefield, former MLA, Satpal Raizada.
The Lok Sabha contest in Kangra has become interesting with Congress nominee, former Union Minister and four times Rajya Sabha MP, Anand Sharma trying his luck for the first time in Lok Sabha battle at the age of 71, against BJP’s low-profile candidate, Rajeev Bhardwaj, who too is a first timer in the electoral battle.
In the Shimla Lok Sabha seat, the Congress candidate, Vinod Sultanpuri has put up a tough challenge for the sitting MP and BJP nominee, Suresh Kashyap.
In the Assembly by-poll, the BJP has experimented by giving tickets to all the Congress rebels in six constituencies.
The ruling Congress remained aggressive throughout the campaign, especially for the Assembly by-polls, which were imposed by six Congress rebels, who are now contesting on BJP tickets.
Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu loudly criticised the rebels and the BJP for trying to topple the government with money power, apart from listing the achievements like the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme for government employees and provision of Rs 1500 to women per month and other welfare schemes.
The ruling party tried to corner the BJP by mentioning its callousness towards helping the affected people and state in the worst natural calamity last year.
The BJP focused more on Modi’s rule in ten years and the failures of the Congress government in HP, and is hopeful to repeat the 2019 Lok Sabha scenario, wherein it had won all four Lok Sabha seats in HP.
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