Election Showdown: By-Elections Heat Up in Himachal Pradesh

Fifteen candidates remain in the race for the by-elections in three Himachal Pradesh assembly constituencies after the nomination scrutiny process. These seats have become vacant following the resignation of three Independent MLAs who joined BJP. The final list includes candidates from major parties like BJP and Congress along with several Independents.

Fifteen candidates are left in the fray for the by-elections in three assembly constituencies of Himachal Pradesh after the scrutiny of nomination papers, the state election department announced on Monday.

The three assembly seats—Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh—became vacant following the resignation of three Independent MLAs who had backed the BJP candidate in Rajya Sabha elections held in February and later joined the party.

In a statement issued here, the election department said after the scrutiny, five candidates are now competing in Dehra, four in Hamirpur, and six in Nalagarh.

Candidates have the opportunity to withdraw their nominations on June 25 and 26.

Prominent candidates in the Dehra assembly seat include Kamlesh Thakur (Congress), wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, BJP candidate Hoshiyar Singh, and Independent candidates Sulekha Devi, Arun Ankesh Syal, and Sanjay Sharma. The nomination papers of two covering candidates Hari Om (Congress) and Veer Singh (BJP) were rejected.

In the Hamirpur assembly constituency, the four contenders are Ashish Sharma (BJP), Pushpinder Verma (Congress), and Independent candidates Pradeep Kumar and Nand Lal Sharma. No nominations were rejected in Hamirpur.

The Nalagarh assembly seat sees a more crowded race with nominees including Hardeep Singh Bawa (Congress), K L Thakur (BJP), Kishori Lal Sharma (Swabhiman Party), and Independent candidates Gurnam Singh, Harpreet Singh, and Vijay Singh. Nominations of Independent candidate Uday Kumar Singh and Congress covering candidate Parminder Kaur Bawa were rejected.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)