4-2: Sukhu stays afloat as Congress rebels sink in Himachal assembly bypolls

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sweep in the Lok Sabha notwithstanding, the Congress had reasons to cheer in Himachal as the party won four of the six assembly seats in the keenly contested assembly bypolls – Dharamshala, Sujanpur, Barsar, Lahaul-Spiti, Gagret and Kutlehar.

The outcome has bolstered chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s stature as he had taken it upon himself to see his party through in the acid test of his political acumen — particularly after the “February coup” that brought his government on the brink.

Notably, Congress’ strength in the House had come down from 40 to 34 after six rebels and the three independents in question (who were supporting the government) had joined the BJP after the tumultuous Rajya Sabha polls held in February.

The Congress’ tally has now increased from the existing 34 to 38 in the 65-member house. Three seats in the assembly, which otherwise has 68 members, remains vacant as speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathahnia on Tuesday accepted the resignation of the three independent MLAs, Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur), Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra), and KL Thakur (Nalagarh), who have also joined the BJP since on Monday.

Rajinder Rana, former chief minister Prem Kumar a Dhumal’s protege who had shot to fame in 2017 after he defeated his mentor in the 2017 assembly elections, was at the forefront of the rebellion. He had defeated Dhumal’s other protege, former defence personnel Ranjit Singh Rana, by a margin of 2,179 votes in 2022 elections from Sujanpur. He, however, was contesting on a BJP ticket in the bypolls.

A battle for survival, stability

With winning the bypolls becoming a must for the stability of the state government, Sukhu devoted most of his time canvassing for the candidates. Throughout the campaign, the CM hit out at the rebels for destabilising a democratically elected government and dubbed the elections a fight between “jan bal (people’s power)” and “dhan bal (money power)”.

Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri’s presence further bolstered the campaign.

Upbeat Congress leaders thronged the CM’s official residence, the Oak Over in Shimla, after the results began to pour in.

Congress candidates were unable to defeat turncoats Inder Dutt Lakhannpal and Sudhir Sharma from Barsar and Dharamshala.

Lakahanpal trounced his nearest rival, Congress’ Subash Chand by a margin of 2,125 votes, while Sharma defeated Congress’ Devinder Singh by 5,526 votes.

Tribals side with Congress

Congress’ first-time candidate, Anuradha Rana, won the Lahaul-Spiti seat with a margin of 1,960 votes. She trounced independent candidate and former minister Ram Lal Markanda, while BJP’s Ravi Thakur came in third.

Congress’ Indira Pyari Behna scheme, which was rolled out in Lahaul-Spiti ensuring a ₹1,500 monthly allowance to women bolstered Anuradha’s prospects in the region. Besides BJP’s Mandi Lok Sabha candidate Kangana Ranaut’s remarks against Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama also did not augur well in Buddhist-dominated regions in tribal Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti district.

Congress candidate Vivek Sharma wrested Kutlehar, once a BJP stronghold, from BJP’s Devender Bhutto with a comfortable margin of 5,356 votes. Rakesh Kalia, meanwhile, won the bypolls with the highest margin from Gagret, defeating BJP’s Chaitanya Sharma by 8,487 votes.