India News | HP Bypolls: Campaign Ends, All Eyes on Oct 30 Voting Now
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The electioneering for bypolls on the Mandi Lok Sabha seat and three assembly segments in Himachal Pradesh seats ended on Wednesday evening.
Shimla, Oct 27 (PTI) The electioneering for bypolls on the Mandi Lok Sabha seat and three assembly segments in Himachal Pradesh seats ended on Wednesday evening.
With poll campaigning for three assembly seats -- Arki, Fatehpur and Jubbal-Kotkhai – too ending at 6 pm on Wednesday, the stage has been set for the October 30 polling which will decide the fate of 18 candidates in the fray.
With the electioneering coming to an end now, the candidates will now be limited to door-to-door visits to request voters for their votes for them on October 30.
The last day of electioneering was marked by Union Minister Anurag Thakur addressing a public meeting in support of Jubbal-Kotkhai BJP candidate Neelam Seraik.
On the other hand, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhaghel and former minister and CWC member Rajeev Shukla held a rally in favour of Arki Congress contestant Sanjay Avashthi on the last day of electioneering.
A total of six candidates including Ambika Shyam of the Rashtriya Lokniti Party, Munshi Ram Thakur of the Himachal Jankranti Party and independent candidates Anil Kumar and Subhash Mohan Snehi are in the fray for the Mandi Lok bypoll.
Twelve other candidates are trying their luck for the three assembly seats of Arki, Fatehpur and Jubbal-Kotkhai.
Rebel BJP candidate Chetan Singh Bragta is seen to be giving a tough fight to the BJP's Neelam Seraik in Jubbal-Kotkhai, where four candidates including Congress' Rohit Thakur and independent Suman Kadam are in the fray.
A direct contest is likely between BJP's Rattan Singh Pal and Congress' Sanjay in Arki where independent candidate Jeet Ram is also trying his luck.
In Fatehpur, the main contest is expected between Baldev Thakur of the BJP and Bhawani Singh Pathania of the Congress. In Fatehpur, Pankaj Kumar Darshi of the Himachal Jankranti Party and independents Ashok Kumar Somal and Rajan Sushant are also in the fray.
The bypolls for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat and three assembly seats of Arki, Jubbal-Kotkhai and Fatehpur were due as they fell vacant following the deaths of sitting lawmakers.
The Mandi seat fell vacant as BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma was found hanging in his official residence in New Delhi on March 17.
Former state minister and Fatehpur Congress MLA Sujan Singh Pathania, former minister and Jubbal-Kotkhai MLA Narinder Bragta and former chief minister and Arki MLA Virbhadra Singh died in February, June and July respectively.
Counting for the Mandi Lok Sabha and the three assembly seats will be held on November 2 after voting on Saturday.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)