BJP-HVC sweeps HP poll
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 6 — The ruling BJP-HVC combine made a clean sweep winning all the four Lok Sabha seats by massive margins in Himachal Pradesh today.

In a severe blow to the Congress, the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) wrested the Shimla (reserved) seat from the party with a margin of 46,930 votes.

The BJP retained the other three seats of Kangra, Hamirpur and Mandi.

Mr Maheshwar Singh of the BJP was declared elected from the Mandi seat with a margin of 1,31,025 votes. He defeated his nearest rival Mr Kaul Singh, a former Speaker and sitting Congress MLA.

The biggest surprise was in the Shimla (reserved) seat where the HVC candidate and a first timer in the fray, Lt Col (retd) Dhani Ram Shandil, defeated Mr Gangu Ram Musafir of the Congress by a margin of 46,930 votes, Mr Shandil secured 2,64,002 votes against 2,17,072 of Mr Musafir.

The Congress suffered a major setback in the apple growing areas of the Shimla district which it had always considered its solid vote bank. Except the Rohru segment in the apple area of the district, the Congress failed to secure a lead from any other Assembly segment in Shimla district.

Mr Shanta Kumar retained the Kangra seat defeating his nearest Congress rival, Mr Sat Mahajan, who is also the PCC president, by a margin of 100742 votes.

Mr Shanta Kumar got 325066 votes, whereas Mr Mahajan polled 224324 votes.

The state BJP chief, Mr Suresh Chandel, also retained the Hamirpur seat by defeating the Congress candidate, Mr Ram Lal Thakur, who is a sitting MLA, by a margin of 129215 votes.

NC gets 4 seats in J&K, BJP 2

SRINAGAR, Oct 6 (UNI, PTI) — Amidst opposition allegations of "rigging and bogus voting", ruling National Conference (NC) bagged 4 Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir while the BJP got the remaining two. The NC, which had three members in the last Lok Sabha, retained Srinagar, Baramula and Ladakh seats and wrested Anantnag from the Congress.

An official spokesman said that NC candidate Omar Abdullah, son of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, retained the Srinagar seat defeating his nearest rival Ms Mehbooba Mufti (IND) daughter of former Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed by a margin of 36, 854.

Mr Omar polled 55,542 while Ms Mehbooba got 18,688 votes.

The National Conference failed to dislodge the BJP in Jammu and Udhampur where Vaid Vishnu Dutt and Chaman Lal Gupta respectively got re-elected.

Abdul Rashid Shaheen will be NC's new entrant to Lok Sabha from Baramula as he retained the seat for the party defeating the PDP nominee Muzaffar Hussain Beigh (Independent) by 38,113 votes.

Mr Abdul Rashid Shaheen of NC was declared elected from Baramula defeating his nearest rival Muzaffar Hussain Baig (IND) by a margin of 38,113 votes. Mr Shaheen polled 84,243 votes and Mr Baig 46130 while former Union Minister Saif-ud-Din Soz got fourth place after securing 11230 votes.

The National Conference working committee will meet "within a couple of days" to decide the party's stand on supporting BJP-led NDA in government formation, NC general secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmed said.

Due to indisposition of NC president and Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, the working committee meeting will be held in two to three days, Mr Ahmed told PTI here.