Following the declaration of results in Himachal Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost all five seats under Union minister Anurag Thakur’s Parliamentary constituency.
The Congress candidate won from Sujanpur, with a margin of 399 votes, from where Thakur’s father and former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal used to contest.
Dhumal was not given a ticket by the BJP for the assembly polls this time. The Union minister shed a tear regarding his father’s hard work.
In Boranj, the saffron party lost by a margin of just 60 votes. Hamirpur assembly segment was won by an independent candidate, while Barsar and Nadaun were bagged by the Congress.
In Bilaspur, the hometown of the BJP’s national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, the party won the seats by narrow margins. After the party’s loss in Himachal, Thakur faced criticism on social media from BJP supporters, who blamed him for the party’s poor showing.
Only two of the BJP rebels won, out of the 21 candidates who contested the elections. However, others got significant votes that may ideally have gone to the BJP.
Overall, three-way factionalism was seen at play: Anurag Thakur and JP Nadda led a faction each, and the third one was loyal to chief minister Jairam Thakur.
The grand old party won 40 seats in Himachal, a comfortable majority, with the BJP at 25. The Aam Aadmi Party failed to open its account in the state.
The BJP banked on the achievements of PM Modi for a smooth transition to a record second term in the state, even though it diligently swings between the BJP and the Congress every election.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Mohammed Baleegh | 
