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Fired up by Kamlesh’s entry, Cong looks to turn tables on BJP in Dehra
Congress has never won the seat, carved out in 2010, during any prior election, but the presence of a high-profile name has energised party cadre
The entry of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur in the bypoll race has paved way for an intriguing electoral battle in Dehra, the assembly segment which goes to polls on July 10.
Congress has never won the seat, carved out in 2010, during any prior election, but the presence of a high-profile name has energised party cadre.
Thakur finds herself pitted against two-time former independent legislator Hoshyar Singh, contesting on a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate this time, in her electoral debut. Singh has secured wins from the seat in the last two assembly elections defeating candidates from both the Congress and the BJP.
The seat was won by BJP’s Ravinder Singh Ravi in 2012, the first assembly since the seat was carved out. Hoshyar Singh emerged victorious in 2017 against Ravi and Congress’ Viplove Thakur and 2022 after beating Congress’ Rajesh Sharma and BJP’s Ramesh Chandi.
While Ravi remains to be a powerful Rajput leader, Ramesh Chand wields influence over OBC voters.
All eyes on Sukhu
Winning the three bypolls remains crucial for the stability of the Congress government and thus the decision to field the CM’s wife holds even more significance.
Sukhu has taken on the responsibility of securing a victory and is leading the campaign from the front.
The Congress continues to target the former independent MLA, Hoshyar Singh, for “betraying” public mandate by resigning from the assembly. The Congress’ strategy had worked well for the party in the June 1 bypolls, when Congress made its rebels perceived backstabbing a poll plank. The Congress had run a high-decibel campaign accusing the BJP for orchestrating the rebellion in a bid to destabilise the state government by using money power.
During her election campaign, Kamlesh Thakur has also made sharp attacks on Hoshyar Singh, accusing him of prioritising his personal interests instead of public welfare in Dehra.
BJP fires ‘mitron ki sarkar’ salvo
The BJP, meanwhile, is also leaving no stone unturned, accusing the ruling party of failing to deliver on its election promises and even accusing the CM of propping up his friends and family members.
BJP leader and Sullah MLA Vipin Singh Parmar, meanwhile, hit back saying the Congress government has failed to provide effective governance. “The state government has already borrowed ₹25,000 crore and plans to borrow an additional ₹10,000 crore,” he said.
Parmar described the Congress government as a “mitron ki sarkar (government of friends)”, alleging that CM Sukhu has shown favouritism towards his associates. “BJP candidate Hoshyar Singh has won from Dehra twice, a first in state history and we are confident of BJP’s victory across all three seats,” he said.
Will bring long-due devp works: Cong
Congress’ media coordinator for the Dehra assembly bypoll, Puneet Malhi, said, “We want to ask Hoshyar Singh, who is now contesting the election again, why he resigned and imposed these by-elections? The people of Dehra had voted for him for five years, but he betrayed their mandate.”
“Although he won from Dehra twice, there has been no development or welfare in Dehra. We also ask Jai Ram Thakur, when he was CM, how many times did he visit Dehra and what did he do for the people of the constituency?” Malhi questioned, emphasising that the Congress will bring the long-due development to Dehra.
