Ex-MLA Rakesh Kalia frontrunner for Congress ticket from Gagret segment

Rajesh Sharma

Una, April 19

The Congress is yet to announce its candidate for the Gagret Assembly byelection against BJP candidate Chaitanya Sharma. Gagret and Kutlehar are two Assembly segments in Una district that are poised for byelections along with the Lok Sabha elections.

Campaigned for BJP

• During CM Sukhvinder Sukhu’s recent visit to Gagret, the local Truck Union led by president Satish Sharma Gogi had sought ticket for Rakesh Kalia
• During the last elections, Kalia had openly worked against the Congress candidate and campaigned for BJP candidate

Former Gagret MLA Rakesh Kalia, who rejoined the Congress two days ago, is the front-runner for the party ticket. He had parted ways with the Congress and joined the BJP during the last Assembly elections after being denied ticket. During the last elections, he had openly worked against the Congress candidate and had campaigned for BJP candidate Rajesh Thakur.

Kalia had fought the Assembly elections for the first time in 2003 from the Chintpurni seat and defeated sitting BJP minister Parveen Sharma by a margin of 10,941 votes. At that time, Chintpurni was an open seat while Gagret was reserved for Scheduled Castes. Kalia again contested from the Chintpurni seat in the 2007 elections and defeated BJP candidate Narender Sharma by 16,135 votes.

Before the 2013 Assembly elections, the Chintpurni seat was reserved for Scheduled Castes while Gagret was declared an open seat. Consequently, Kalia shifted to Gagret and won the seat in the 2013 Assembly elections by a margin of 4,879 votes, defeating BJP candidate Sushil Kalia. He, however, lost to BJP candidate Rajesh Thakur in the 2017 Assembly elections by 9,320 votes.

After the BJP gave ticket to Chaitanya Sharma for the Gagret byelection, Kalia resigned from the party in the hope of securing Congress ticket. Two days ago, he rejoined the Congress in the presence of Rajiv Shukla, AICC secretary and in-charge of Himachal Pradesh, in New Delhi. His supporters say that he would return to Gagret only after securing ticket.

Brajesh Dogra, district Congress vice-president, is among Congress leaders who have staked their claim to the party ticket. Dogra, former pradhan of Dangoh panchayat in Gagret, wields considerable influence with the state and national party leadership. He is a strong candidate if the party opts for a new face.

Kuldeep Sharma Deepu, Zila Parishad member from Gagret and president of the Amb Truck Union, Saroj Sharma, HPCC secretary and Mahila Congress leader, and Raman Jaswal have also staked claim to Congress ticket. Saroj hails from Tatehda village in the Gagret segment.

Meanwhile, during Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s recent visit to Gagret, members of the local Truck Union led by president Satish Sharma Gogi had sought ticket for Rakesh Kalia. Later, when Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan visited Gagret, the truck union again sought ticket for Kalia.

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