HP polls: BJP suffers setback in three out of four parliamentary constituencies

The BJP, which managed to win 25 seats on Thursday in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, suffered a setback in the assembly segments falling under Shimla, Hamirpur and Kangra parliamentary constituencies in the hill state.

However, the party put up a good show in the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.

The Congress wrested Himachal Pradesh from the BJP winning 40 seats in the 68-member Assembly.

The promise of restoration of the old pension scheme proved to be a shot in the arm for the Congress while the issues of apple growers marred the BJP prospects in about 20 seats.

Also read: In narrow Himachal win, Congress cannot afford to celebrate yet

Anti-incumbency

The voters were enraged over the rising unemployment and inflation and there was a strong anti-incumbency against the government, political observers said, PTI reported.

“Restoration of old pension scheme is the major demand of employees. Besides, people are feeling the pinch of rising prices of commodities,” said a political science professor of Himachal Pradesh University, seeking anonymity.

The popularity of Chief Minister Jairam Thakur helped BJP sail through assembly segments in Mandi constituency. The Congress, which won the Mandi Lok Sabha seat last year, was in for a jolt here and could secure only five seats out of 17 seats.

The 17 assembly segments under Mandi parliamentary constituency are Rampur (SC), Kinnaur (ST), Lahaul and Spiti (ST), Bharmor (ST), Manali, Kullu, Banjjar, Anni (SC), Karsog (SC), Sundernagar, Nachan, (SC), Seraj, Drang, Jogindernagar, Mandi, Balh (SC) and Sarkaghat.

Hamirpur loss

Unemployment, inflation, poor governance, and train service to Hamirpur from Una were major issues in Hamirpur parliamentary constituency.

The people were also unhappy as Hamirpur was not given a representation in the cabinet and former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal was sidelined which cost the BJP heavily. Congress and independents won 13 out of the 17 assembly seats in this parliamentary segment.

The assembly seats falling under Hamirpur parliamentary constituency included Dharampur, Dehra, Jwalamukhi, Bhoranj (SC), Sujanpur, Hamirpur, Barsar, Nadaun, Chintpurni (SC), Gagret, Haroli, Una, Kutlehar, Ghumarwin, Bilaspur, Sri Naina Devi Ji and Jandutta (SC).

Angry Kangra

In Kangra parliamentary constituency, missing contact with the masses and ignoring the Brahmins — who constitute 20-21 per cent of the voters in the region — in ticket allocation did not go well with the voters. Kangra with 15 assembly seats is the deciding factor in Himachal elections and the people were angry as developmental work was centred in Mandi district. The Congress and the BJP got 11 and six seats, respectively, in this parliamentary segment.

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Kangra Lok Sabha constituency comprises Churah (SC), Chamba, Dalhousie, Bhattiyat, Nurpur, Indora (SC), Fatehpur, Jwali, Jaswan-Pragpur, Jaisingpur, Sulah, Nagrota, Kangra, Shahpur, Dharamsala, Palampur and Baijnath(SC) assembly segments.

Shimla washout

The BJP was virtually washed out in Shimla parliamentary constituency and could win only three seats while Congress registered victory in 13 seats and an independent won in one seat.

The constituency comprises Arki, Nalagarh, Doon, Solan (SC), Kasauli (SC), Pachhad (SC), Nahan, Sri Renukaji (SC), Paonta, Shillai, Chopal, Theog, Kusumpti, Shimla (Urban), Shimla(Rural), Jubbal-Kotkhai and Rohroo (SC) assembly seats where 100 per cent import duty on apple and increase in production cost with 18 per cent GST on packaging material were major poll issues.

(With Agency inputs)