DHARAMSHALA: Even as BJP and Congress largely relied on the old horses in the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls, there are many young guns in both parties who have made the mark in this assembly elections.
The youngest of them is Chaitanya Sharma, 28, a Congress candidate from the Gagret assembly constituency. Sharma defeated his nearest rival and sitting BJP legislator Rajesh Thakur by a big margin of 15,685 votes. Sharma, son of former Uttarakhand chief secretary Rakesh Sharma, is known for his philanthropic work in the Gagret. He had won the Zila Parishad election from the Bhanjal ward of Gagret in the 2021 Panchayati Raj election. Congress gave him a ticket, replacing former three-term legislator Rakesh Kalia and the move paid off.
In the Anni assembly segment of Kullu BJP’s Lokender Kumar, 34, registered a victory by 6,678 votes defeating his nearest rival and BJP rebel Paras Ram.
Kumar started as a student leader and was associated with the left-oriented SFI. He remained vice-president of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Shimla Students’ Union in 2011 and was at the forefront of the many agitations. He won the Zila Parishad election in 2015 and was CPI (M) candidate from the Anni assembly seat in the 2017 elections.
In Hamirpur, the bastion of Union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Singh Thakur, independent candidate Ashish Sharma, 35, defied all odds and won the election defeating his nearest rival Dr Pushpinder Verma of Congress by 12,899 votes. Known locally as “gau rakshak”, Sharma was in the BJP before leaving to join Congress. However, Congress also denied him a ticket after the opposition by the party’s campaign committee head Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu who backed Verma.
{{/usCountry}}In Hamirpur, the bastion of Union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Singh Thakur, independent candidate Ashish Sharma, 35, defied all odds and won the election defeating his nearest rival Dr Pushpinder Verma of Congress by 12,899 votes. Known locally as “gau rakshak”, Sharma was in the BJP before leaving to join Congress. However, Congress also denied him a ticket after the opposition by the party’s campaign committee head Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu who backed Verma.
{{/usCountry}}Dr Janak Raj, 43, the BJP candidate from Bharmour is also a first-timer. A neurosurgeon by profession, Dr Raj served as medical superintendent of Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla.
He was vying for the BJP ticket in 2017 also but lost the race to Jia Lal. However, BJP reposed faith in him this time, and he lived up to the expectation. Dr Raj defeated his uncle Thakur Singh Bharmouri, a veteran Congress leader and former minister.
In Chintpurni Congress’ Sudarshan Singh Babloo, 41, defeated the two-term legislator Balbir Singh by a margin of 4,858 votes. Babloo, 41, is the state president of Congress Seva Dal Young Brigade.