Shimla, June 8,
BJP scoring its third electoral success from the Shimla reserved seat could be termed a major failure for the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh.
Both parties, now analyzing their performances on the ground, realized shocking realities. Suresh Kashyap of BJP, who was elected for a third term from Shimla PC, had to face anti-incumbency in his own terms.
On June 4, 2024, Kashyap, an ex-serviceman, was declared elected for his second term as MP by a margin of 91,451 votes. He achieved a lead of only 451 votes from the Pachad assembly constituency of Sirmour district, his home turf.
In 2019, Kashyap won by 327,514 votes (54.03%) and secured a lead of more than 14,000 from Pachhad. He was also elected as a member of the Assembly from Pachhad in 2012 and 2017, with leads of 2,625 and 6,427 in the AC.
Despite the electoral victory, the BJP MP was facing anti-incumbency in his own home turf. He managed a narrow margin, and his role as the winner was negligible.
He retained the Congress bastion for the fourth time since 2009, as Virender Kashyap, a close relative of the winning BJP MP, was elected from Shimla PC in 2009 and 2014 twice. Mr. Virender Kashyap, who remained the president of BJP’s Scheduled Tribe national Morcha, was elected by only 27,327 votes in 2009 and 84,127 votes in the 2014 LS election on the BJP ticket.
The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government was expected to wrest this PC after a gap of 15 years but lost it due to the poor performance of the party, despite the strong presence of party MLAs, ministers, cabinet-rank government functionaries, and a plethora of cadre.
The performance of the BJP candidate was interestingly extremely poor in his own turf, from where he has won three elections. On the other hand, the Congress party, despite having an army of 15 MLAs, five cabinet ministers, three CPS, a deputy speaker, five cabinet-rank chairmen, vice chairmen, advisors, and OSD, could secure a lead in only two assembly constituencies. Congress candidate Vinod Sultanpuri, who is a member of the assembly and son of six-time MP KD Sultanpuri, could not secure a lead from his own turf, Kasauli AC. The BJP MP, despite securing a negligible lead in his home turf, secured a lead from the home turf of his adversary. Mr. Sultanpuri also trailed by as many as 3,360 votes from Kasauli AC despite being a sitting MP. Out of 17 ACs, the BJP candidate secured leads in almost 15 ACs, barring two stronghold ACs of Education Minister Rohit Thakur of AC Jubbal-Kothai and CPS Mohan Bragta of Rohru. Sultanpuri got a lead of 5,927 votes from J&K AC and 8,345 from Rohru AC.
Other cabinet ministers and plum post holders in the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government seemed absent from the ground zero, barring political rallies, as none of them in the remaining 15 ACs could manage to secure a lead despite being in power for 15 months in the state.
Anurudh Singh, who is the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister and closest to the Chief Minister, couldn’t succeed in achieving a 72% turnout in Kasumpti AC, as 64% polling was recorded in the home turf of the cabinet minister and three-time MLA.
The minister also did not work on the ground as reflected from the electoral outcome of the 2024 election. The BJP secured a lead of 6,139 votes from Kasumpti AC.
Vikramaditya Singh, who is the PWD Minister and Urban Development Minister, himself suffered electoral defeat in Mandi PC against Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut by a margin of 74,567 votes and could not manage a lead in his home turf Shimla Rural for party candidate Vinod Sultanpuri. The BJP candidate had a lead of 6,478 votes.
In AC Solan, three-time Congress Minister Dhani Ram Shandil could not perform as the BJP candidate managed a lead of around 5,016 votes.
In AC Shillai, Industry Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan could not manage a lead for the party as the BJP candidate got a lead of 2,417 votes.
In AC Renukaji of Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar, Congress trailed by 4,485 votes.
In AC Arki of CPS Sanjay Awasthi, Congress candidate trailed by 15,484 votes, and in AC Doon of CPS Ram Kumar, the Congress candidate trailed by 13,082 votes.
The BJP secured a lead in the Congress-dominated Shimla Urban, Theog, and Nahan ACs as well.
The minute analysis of the BJP electoral success in Shimla PC indicates that there was something wrong with the performance of the ruling Congress, and it was trapped in the bye-election simultaneous election. However, the party succeeded narrowly by retaining four ACs out of six.
The grand old party’s debacle in the state seemed to be due to the poor performance of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government and its apparent lack of work among the electorates.
The booth-level management and Congress cadres were almost negligible compared to the strong control of the BJP election team.
There was an absence of booth workers in many polling stations of Congress despite its strong support from CPM cadre in many assembly constituencies.
Empower Independent Journalism – Join Us Today!
Dear Reader,
We’re committed to unbiased, in-depth journalism that uncovers truth and gives voice to the unheard. To sustain our mission, we need your help. Your contribution, no matter the size, fuels our research, reporting, and impact.
Stand with us in preserving independent journalism’s integrity and transparency. Support free press, diverse perspectives, and informed democracy.
Click [here] to join and be part of this vital endeavour.
Thank you for valuing independent journalism.
Warmly,
Vishal Sarin, Editor
