The Congress’ victory in the Himachal Pradesh bypolls just a year before the state assembly elections could not have come at a worse time for Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who has stressed on his party’s campaign for ‘clean and efficient governance’.
The biggest blow to the Chief Minister has come in the form of defeat in his home constituency Mandi parliamentary constituency. Understanding the importance of these elections, Thakur had launched an intense campaign for his party’s candidate in the area. But this defeat has opened the undercurrents of dissatisfaction with his government.
Inflation cost?
The electoral debacle is expected to baffle some, but grassroots leaders blame the loss on two factors. One, due to inflation and inflation and secondly due to lack of employment for the youth in the state. While the Congress has retained its hold on Fatehpur and Arki, the real advantage went to Jubbal-Kotkhai, the apple stronghold of the state, which was occupied by the BJP. The seat fell into the hands of the Congress when the BJP at the last minute stopped the ticket of Chetan Singh Bragata, son of MLA Narinder Singh Bragata, whose death made the election necessary and fielded Neelam Saraik, who was an independent candidate against Bragata. As contested. 2017.
Read also | BJP’s defeat in Himachal’s Mandi, 3 more assembly seats in litmus test for party ahead of 2022 elections
Denied ticket from BJP, he contested as an independent and thus cut into BJP’s vote share. In Mandi, leaders pointed to sympathy for Virbhadra Singh, who also worked in favor of Pratibha Singh, who won against BJP candidate and Kargil War hero Brigadier (retd) Khushal Thakur.
He may have conceded defeat after the announcement of the results, but he said, “BJP fought hard, but the results were not up to our expectations. We will definitely study the lessons learned in these by-elections and learn for the future for the 2022 election.” He also chose to downplay the Congress’ emphatic victory and said, “Can’t say because Congress won today. He will win the 2022 election. . We have often seen that the party that loses the mid-term election wins the last election and vice versa.
Lonely Man Army?
But local leaders are blaming the loss on the lack of coordination between party workers, leaders and the CM. A senior BJP leader said, “The chief minister was the only face during the campaign and during the election campaign. Where were the party leaders?’ The fight for his rule and hence he remained the face of the campaign and party workers and leaders preferred to stay away. Some leaders also pointed out that factionalism and dissatisfaction among party workers is not only in Mandi but also in Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly. The section ensured that differences were visible even during the campaign.
“The party leaders and workers need to work together if they want to see the BJP win the assembly elections to be held later next year,” said a senior BJP leader. Whether the defeat will mean a change in leadership as has happened in other BJP-ruled states remains to be seen, but leaders at the grassroots say the difference with Himachal is that Jai Ram continues to be popular among the people of the state. Is. .
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