E-Paper
Saffron party has dominated last three LS elections in HP
BJP has dominated the last three Lok Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh. The BJP swept all four seats in 2014 as well as 2019, wiping out Congress. Even in 2009, the BJP secured victory on three seats, thus consolidating its position in the state. Currently, Congress holds power in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has dominated the last three Lok Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh. The BJP swept all four seats in 2014 as well as 2019, wiping out Congress. Even in 2009, the BJP secured victory on three seats, thus consolidating its position in the state. Currently, Congress holds power in the state.
However, winning the Lok Sabha elections doesn’t seem easy for Congress. Except for the Mandi constituency, Congress has faced defeat on all three seats in the past three Lok Sabha elections.
In 2014, when Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government held the reins of the state, the people of the hill state voted for BJP, giving the saffron party all four seats. During the 2019 elections, when BJP was in power in the state, several records of victory in terms of vote difference were shattered. BJP had secured a lead in all the 68 assembly constituencies of the state during the previous elections.
In the Kangra constituency in 2019, BJP’s Kishan Kapoor set a record by securing the highest-ever 72.02% of votes, winning the elections with a margin of 4,77,623 votes.
Kangra constituency also saw BJP victories for the past 15 years, except for 2004 when Congress won. BJP’s Rajan Sushant in 2009, Shanta Kumar in 2014, and Kishan Kapoor in 2019 won from this constituency.
Shimla district is considered a Congress stronghold. However, after the 2004 elections, Congress didn’t win the Shimla seat. BJP has dominated this seat in the 2009, 2014, and 2019 elections. BJP’s Suresh Kashyap won from Shimla in 2019 defeating Congress’ Dhani Ram Shandil by a margin of 3,27,515 votes.
Hamirpur constituency has been under BJP’s control for 26 years. Congress last won this seat in 1996. Anurag Thakur of BJP has won from Hamirpur for four consecutive terms. He defeated Congress’ Ram Lal Thakur by a margin of 3,99, 572 votes in the 2019 elections.
Mandi is the only seat where Congress seems to have a slightly better position compared to BJP. In the last five elections, Congress has won three times, while BJP has won twice. In 2009, Congress won the Mandi seat, and Virbhadra Singh became a minister in the Manmohan Singh government.
In December 2012, Virbhadra Singh became the chief minister of the state, and his wife Pratibha Singh was elected as a Member of Parliament in the by-elections in the Mandi constituency. However, in the general elections of 2014, Pratibha Singh lost to BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma. Sharma won again in 2019 defeating Congress’ Aashray Sharma by a margin of 4,05,459 votes. In 2021, he committed suicide at his residence in Delhi. Following this, Pratibha Singh was elected as a Member of Parliament in the by-elections in the Mandi constituency. Currently, Mandi is the only constituency under Congress’ control.
Overall, the political landscape in Himachal Pradesh remains dynamic, with BJP dominating in the Lok Sabha elections.
