The three newly elected Himachal Pradesh MLAs, including Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur who won from Dehra, took oath at the Vidhan Sabha in Shimla on Monday (July 22, 2024).
Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania administered the oath in the Assembly hall, with Chief Minister Sukhu, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, MLAs and several dignitaries among those present for the oath-taking ceremony.
Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri could not attend the function due to a puja related to his late wife at Jawalamukhi Temple.
The other two to take oath are Nalagarh MLA Hardeep Singh Bawa and Hamirpur legislator Ashish Sharma. While Chief Minister Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh and Hardeep have won their first election, Ashish has been second time lucky.
The oath ceremony was conducted at 11 am at the Vidhan Sabha in Shimla, said a government statement. The byelections, necessitated after the resignation by three Independent MLAs upon joining the BJP, which fielded them to defend their old seats, were conducted on July 10 while the counting of votes took place on July 13.
In Dehra, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur of the Congress triumphed over Hoshyar Singh of the BJP by a margin of 9,399 votes. Kamlesh received 32,737 votes while Hoshyar Singh garnered 23,338. Among the independent candidates, Sulekha Chaudhary received 171 votes, Arun Ankesh Syal got 67 votes and Advocate Sanjay Sharma received 43 votes. Additionally, 150 voters opted for NOTA (None of the Above).
In Hamirpur, Ashish Sharma of the BJP emerged victorious, defeating his closest rival Dr Pushpinder Verma of the Congress by 1,571 votes. Ashish secured 27,041 votes while Dr Verma received 25,470 votes in a closely contested race. Independent candidate Nand Lal Sharma received 74 votes and 198 voters chose NOTA.
In Nalagarh, Hardeep Singh Bawa of the Congress defeated BJP’s KL Thakur by 8,990 votes. Bawa got 34,608 votes against 25,618 votes of Thakur. Independent candidate Harpreet Singh Saini finished third with 13,025 votes. Kishori Lal Sharma of the Swabhiman Party received 492 votes and another independent candidate, Vijay Singh, received 353 votes. The highest number of NOTA votes among the three constituencies was recorded in Nalagarh, with 446 voters choosing this option.
Meanwhile, after the byelections to nine Assembly seats and the BJP’s alleged attempts at regaining power, the Congress has regained its previous strength of 40 MLAs that it had after the 2022 Assembly results. The opposition BJP’s tally has risen from 25 to 28 even as it is five short of the magic mark of 35 to form the government.
