‘Long delay’ in announcement of candidates disappoints Himachal Congress ticket hopefuls, say party giving campaign advantage to rival BJP nominees
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TNR Desk
The Congress is expected to decide its candidates for the Kangra and Hamirpur parliamentary constituencies in Himachal Pradesh only after April 20 as the date for a meeting of the party’s central election committee, its top poll body, hasn’t been announced yet.
Of the four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress has so far announced candidates only for the Mandi and Shimla (SC) constituencies — MLAs Vikramaditya Singh and Vinod Sultanpuri. For the six Assembly byelections, the party is expected to take even longer even as the BJP has declared all its candidates for both categories of elections in the state on June 1.
The name of Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri’s daughter Aastha Agnihotri was proposed as a candidate to contest against BJP candidate and Union Minister Anurag Thakur for the Hamirpur parliamentary seat at the last Congress central election committee meeting. However, Aastha declined the candidacy through a social media post.
Consequently, the search for a formidable party candidate from Hamirpur has resumed. The name of former Una Sadar MLA Satpal Raizada has once again emerged as a potential candidate for the Hamirpur seat, though the party is also exploring other options.
Discussions are underway regarding the Kangra parliamentary seat, with former ministers Asha Kumari, Sanjay Chauhan and Karan Singh Pathania being considered as potential candidates. There is also speculation on fielding one of the incumbent MLAs from the area, with MLAs Raghuveer Singh Bali, Sanjay Ratan and Kewal Singh Pathania being among those under consideration.
Meanwhile, the selection of candidates for the Assembly byelections in Dharamshala, Sujanpur, Lahaul-Spiti, Gagret, Kutlehar and Barsar is expected to take more time. These by-elections are scheduled for June 1 and the Congress party is exercising caution in candidate selection. A few ticket aspirants TNR spoke to expressed their disappointment over the inordinate delay in the announcement of candidates for both Assembly byelections and the Lok Sabha poll, saying BJP candidates were bound to take advantage in campaigning due to this.
