Himachal Votes 2022: Battle lines drawn, rebels may upset BJP & Congress apple cart in 15 seats

Bhanu P Lohumi

Shimla, October 29

The battle lines have been drawn for a fierce electoral battle between the BJP and the Congress, both facing rebels who can upset the apple cart in over 15 of the 68 Assembly constituencies.

A total of 413 candidates have been left in the fray after 92 candidates withdrew their nomination papers today. As many as 45 nominations were rejected. Leaders of both political parties were on their toes to persuade the rebels to withdraw their nomination in the “larger interests” of the party.

The BJP has managed to convince former MP Maheshwar Singh to withdraw as an Independent. He could have caused trouble for the party in the Kullu (Sadar) and Banjar Assembly seats, while the Congress persuaded former minister Kuldeep Kumar from Chintpurni and MLAs Biru Ram Kishore (Jhandutta) and Tilak Raj (Bilaspur) to withdraw their nominations.

Major Congress rebels contesting the elections include former minister Gangu Ram Musafir from Pachhad, former MLA Subhash Manglet from Chopal and former MLA Jagjivan Pal from Sullah.

The BJP could face damage from ex-MP Kripal Parmar contesting the Fatehpur seat, former MLA from Dharamsala Vipin Nehria, former MLA from Kinnaur Tejwant Negi and Hoshiyar Singh, who won the 2017 Assembly poll as an Independent from Dehra and joined the BJP. He was also denied the ticket and is contesting as an Independent.

Other BJP rebels include Manohar Dhiman from Indora, Ram Singh from Kullu, Hiteshwar Singh from Banjar, Indira Kapoor from Chamba and Praveen Sharma from Mandi, while other Congress rebels include Vijay Pal Khachi and Indu Verma from Theog, Sanjeev Bhandari from Jogindernagar and Paras Ram from Anni.

There is a triangular contest in three constituencies — Lahaul and Spiti, Darang and Churah — while a multi-corner contest will be witnessed in the remaining seats.