Dehra Assembly constituency set for high-voltage contest

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, June 18

The Dehra Assembly constituency is set to witness a high-voltage contest in the byelection on July 10 between Congress candidate Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and BJP candidate Hoshiyar Singh.

Cong hasn’t won seat since 2012

• The Chief Minister has been working to establish a rapport with the people of the Dehra Assembly constituency for the past one year
• During a meeting in Dehra recently, the Chief Minister had claimed that he had roots in the constituency
• The Chief Minister had also announced various development projects for Dehra, including a Rs 400 crore zoological park in the Bankhandi area
• In 2012, BJP’s Ravinder Ravi had won the seat while in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections, Hoshiyar Singh was elected an Independent MLA from the constituency

The battle lines have now been drawn between former Independent MLA Hoshiyar Singh, who later joined the BJP, and Kamlesh Thakur as the Dehra byelection will be a battle for prestige for the Congress and the Chief Minister.

Sources said that the BJP would launch its full force as for it this byelection would a contest with the Chief Minister. If the BJP manages to win the seat, it would be a moral victory for it and embarrassment for the ruling Congress.

Meanwhile, Hoshiyar Singh returned from vacation abroad today. He was given a rousing welcome by his supporters and BJP workers in Dehra. However, many disgruntled BJP leaders did not attend a meeting called by Hoshiyar, who later formally launched his campaign as the BJP candidate.

Hoshiar Singh, while addressing his supporters and party workers, once again played the card of being a local leader from Dehra. He had won the Dehra seat as an Independent candidate in triangular contests in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections defeating both BJP and Congress candidates. However, the biggest challenge for Hoshiyar Singh this time will be to take along the disgruntled BJP leaders from Dehra, who had been opposing his entry into the party.

The BJP has made Sullah MLA Vipin Singh Parmar the campaign in-charge for the Dehra byelection. The sources said that many senior leaders were likely to campaign for Hoshiyar Singh in the Dehra byelection as the Chief Minister’s wife was the Congress candidate.

The BJP may depute Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur to ensure Hoshiyar Singh’s victory from the Dehra Assembly constituency, which is part of the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency. In the recent Lok Sabha poll, the BJP had got a lead of about 19,000 votes over the Congress in the Dehra Assembly segment.

The Dehra constituency was formed in 2012 after carving out areas from the Jaswan and Jwalamukhi Assembly constituencies. Since then, the Congress has never won the seat. In 2012, BJP’s Ravinder Ravi won the seat while in the 2017 and 2022 elections, Hoshiyar Singh was elected an Independent MLA from the constituency.

The Chief Minister has been establishing a rapport with the people of the Dehra constituency for the past one year. During a meeting in Dehra recently, the Chief Minister had claimed that he had roots in the constituency. He had also announced various development projects for Dehra, including a Rs 400 crore zoological park in the Bankhandi area.