Shimla, Apr 5
The upcoming Lok Sabha and bye-elections in six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh are not a cakewalk for either the ruling Congress or the opposition BJP.
Given the recent plot by the BJP to poach six Congress MLAs, a new challenge now confronts the ruling Congress party in the state: to begin a manhunt for party candidates who can be relied upon not just as dedicated party workers, but also as ideological stalwarts.
The Operation Lotus cannot solely be attributed to the political hegemony or the might of the Modi-Shah duo, although it is being perceived as showing little regard for the previous political affiliations of Congress leaders.
Noteworthy is that at least four former Congress MLAs are either proteges of the BJP or have been in touch with the saffron party for a long time. Rajinder Rana was a former BJP rebel, while Chetanya Sharma had also sought a ticket from the BJP during the 2022 elections.
Inderdutt Lakhanpal and Ravi Thakur hail from the Congress cadre, and when individuals who have served in the Sewadal, NSUI, and Youth Congress are willing to ditch the grand old party, how could BJP rebels be trusted?
According to party sources, the name of former MLA Manjit Singh Dogra from the Badsar assembly constituency of Hamirpur district is being proposed to replace Inderdutt Lakhanpal.
Manjit Dogra is a two-time MLA; once he won the election as an independent, and the second time from the Congress. Apart from Manjit, the names of Gyan Chand and Sanjeev Sharma are also under discussion from Badsar. Congress could give the ticket to any one of them and field him against three-time MLA Indradutt Lakhanpal.
In Lahaul Spiti, Ram Lal Markanda, has announced rebellion against the BJP. Markanda was a cabinet minister in the Jai Ram Thakur government, but faced discrimination as an important berth was taken from him.
Though opposition to Markanda in Lahaul Spiti is strong but it is being speculated that in Lahaul Spiti, the Congress party could make BJP rebel its candidate. Apart from Markanda, the names of party spokesperson Anil Sehgal, Zila Parishad chairman Anuradha Rana, and former MLA Raghuveer Singh Thakur are also being propped up.
The final decision on Lok Sabha and Assembly tickets is expected in the meeting to be held in Delhi on Saturday.
The Congress party is also searching for former ex-servicemen in Sujanpur Tira. The former Mayor of Dharmshala could be shortlisted as candidates, and the party is likely to nominate former party leader or Congress rebel Rakesh Kalia as the party candidate for the Gagret assembly.
The Congress is currently considering the names of Pratibha Singh from Mandi, Asha Kumari from Kangra, Sohan Lal or Dayal Payri from Shimla, and Satpal Raizada from Hamirpur.
The BJP has declared Kangana Ranaut as the candidate from Mandi, Trilok Kapoor from Kangra, Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur, and Suresh Kashyap from Shimla.
The party has already finalized the tickets for Rajinder Rana from Hamirpur, Inderdutt Lakhanpal from Badasar, Chaitanya Sharma from Gagret, Devinder Bhutoo from Kutleher, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul Spiti, and Sudhir Sharma from Dharmshala.
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