A meeting of the fact-finding committee constituted by Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore to find out the reason behind defeat in the by elections for Dharamshala ended in a furor on Wednesday.
The Congress had suffered a humiliating defeat in the bypolls for Dharamshala seat on October 21 as party candidate Vijay Inder Karan, who was defeated by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Vishal Nehria, forfeited his deposit. The party slipped to third place in Dharamshala by securing just over 8,000 votes.
On Wednesday, the two-member panel comprising former legislators Ajay Mahajan and Kuldeep Singh Pathania met party workers to take feedback. However, the party workers owing allegiance to different factions slugged it out among themselves in front of the panel members.
Supporters of former Dharamshala legislator Sudhir Sharma and Vijay Inder Karan appeared before the panel to submit the facts. Karan, who was also present during the meeting, blamed Sharma for his defeat in the polls. As evidence, he submitted a pen drive and compact disc (CD) containing snapshots of Sharma’s social media posts and demanded strict action against him.
Meanwhile, the rival faction alleged that the Congress candidate was not a familiar face in the constituency which led to the party’s defeat. They alleged that local leaders who were present in the meeting were missing from the campaign during the bypolls. A verbal spat took place between the two sides during the meeting as panel members struggled to calm down the situation.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the rival faction alleged that the Congress candidate was not a familiar face in the constituency which led to the party’s defeat. They alleged that local leaders who were present in the meeting were missing from the campaign during the bypolls. A verbal spat took place between the two sides during the meeting as panel members struggled to calm down the situation.
{{/usCountry}}Committee member Ajay Mahajan said the panel will be submitting a report to the party high command in two or three days.