BJP retains Dharamshala, Pachhad seats
HIMACHAL BYPOLLS Saffron party’s Vishal Nehria wins by margin of 6,758 votes in Dharamshala; in Pachhad, Reena Kashyap defeats Cong veteran and 7-time MLA Gangu Ram Musafir by 2,742 votes
DHARAMSHALA:The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained the Dharamshala and Pachhad assembly seats by winning the October 21 bypolls, results of which were declared on Thursday.
The saffron party won the Dharamshala seat by a margin of 6,758 votes as its arch-rival, the Congress, slipped to the third place. In Pachhad, the ruling party won by a margin of 2,742 votes.
In Dharamshala, of 52,915 valid votes, BJP candidate Vishal Nehria polled 23,498 (44.4%) against the nearest rival Rakesh Chaudhary, a BJP rebel, who contested as an Independent to secure 16,740 (31.6%) votes.
The result was a huge setback for the Congress as its candidate Vijay Inder Karan bagged only 8,212 (15.52%) votes and forfeited his deposit.
The Congress failed to get even its cadre vote. The grand old party had polled more than 18,000 votes in Dharamshala in the parliamentary elections. Karan got a lead of just one vote in only one booth out of total 88.
Total seven candidates were in the fray in Dharamshala. Another independent candidate, Puneesh Sharma, a Congress rebel, polled 2,345 votes while 430 voters chose NOTA.
Remaining three independent candidates jointly polled 1,690 votes and 24 votes were rejected.
The BJP gained a lead from the very first round in Dharamshala and pushed the margin up to 7,196 votes till the fifth round. Independent Rakesh Chaudhary, who belongs to the dominant OBC community, closed in considerably in sixth and seventh rounds and the BJP’s lead was reduced to about 4,300 votes.
However, the BJP gained momentum in the eighth and ninth rounds and again extended the lead to 6,758 votes.
In Pachhad, of 54,041 valid votes, BJP’s Reena Kashyap polled 22,048 (40.8%), defeating Congress’ veteran leader and former seven-time legislator Gangu Ram Musafir by 2,742 votes. Musafir polled 19,306 (35.7%) votes. Dayal Payari, a BJP rebel who contested as an independent, put up a decent show by bagging 11,651 (21.56%) votes. There were total five candidates in the fray and the remaining two Independents jointly polled 718 votes. 318 voters in Pachhad pressed NOTA.
The BJP maintained a narrow lead right from the first round.
The Congress narrowed the lead in fifth, sixth and seventh rounds, but lagged in the next two rounds.
The bypolls in Dharamshala and Pachhad were necessitated after sitting legislators Kishan Kapoor and Suresh Kashyap were elected to the Lok Sabha after parliamentary elections held earlier this year.
Polling was held on October 21 with over 65% voters exercising their franchise in Dharamshala and 72% in Pachhad.