Himachal CM Sukhu, wife Kamlesh make history as first MLA couple in India
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The Newz Radar Network
It’s a moment of rejoicing in real sense for Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his wife Kamlesh Thakur as the couple have achieved the historic milestone of becoming the first MLA couple not only of the state, but in India.
Though there have been instances of husbands and wives becoming MLAs, Sukhu and Kamlesh are the first to enter the Assembly simultaneously. The historic victory marks the first instance of a Chief Minister and his spouse both serving as MLAs at the same time. Typically, wives have become MLAs only due to their husband’s death, transition to MP status or imprisonment, as seen with former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi.
Kamlesh triumphed in the Dehra byelection, defeating BJP’s Hoshyar Singh by a margin of 9,399 votes. She garnered 32,737 votes compared to Singh’s 23,338. Hoshyar, a two-term Independent MLA, had resigned to contest on a BJP ticket, necessitating the bypoll. This election was Kamlesh’s debut, with polling on July 10 and vote counting on July 13.
Despite trailing in the first four rounds, Kamlesh secured a decisive lead in the subsequent six rounds. Among the five candidates in Dehra, independent nominees Arun Ankesh Syal, Sulekha Chaudhary and Sanjay Sharma failed to surpass the 200-vote mark, receiving 171, 67, and 43 votes respectively. NOTA polled 150 votes.
Kamlesh’s victory was a hard-fought battle of prestige, reflecting on her husband’s 18-month-old Congress government. She trailed by 261 votes after the first round, 360 votes after the second, 557 after the third, and 37 votes after the fourth round before taking a lead of 636 votes in the fifth round. Kamlesh hails from Dehra constituency in Kangra district while Sukhu represents Nadaun in the Assembly.
The nomination of Kamlesh Thakur for the Congress candidacy in the July 10 byelection sparked high drama and rebellion within the party. Dr Rajesh Sharma, the 2022 Congress candidate who lost to Hoshyar Singh, had initially announced his intention to run as an independent candidate, alleging threats from Sukhu.
During the campaign, BJP state president Dr Rajeev Bindal criticized Sukhu, comparing his administration to the Lalu-Rabri era of Bihar and accusing him of nepotism and mismanagement. Bindal highlighted Sukhu’s loss in his own constituency during the parliamentary elections and accused him of failing to fulfil promises, particularly to women voters.
The by-election in Dehra thus became a focal point, not only as a contest between BJP’s Hoshyar Singh and Congress’s Kamlesh but also as a referendum on the performance of Sukhu’s government. The bypoll hogged national headlines.
