Himachal Congress stakes claim to form government as MLAs meet
Congress leaders met the governor of Himachal Pradesh, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar in Shimla on Friday and handed over the list of its newly-elected MLAs to prove their strength to form the government in the state. The leaders included Congress's Himachal Pradesh in-charge Rajiv Shukla, and party observers Bhupinder Hooda and Bhupesh Baghel, the chief minister of Chhattisgarh.
Why does this story matter?
Congress put up an impressive show in the 2022 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections by winning 40 seats of the total 68 and relegating its principal rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to 25 seats on Thursday. The grand old party called a meeting of its MLAs in Shimla on Friday to decide who would be the new CM.
Congress leaders hand MLAs list to governor
Supporters of Pratibha Singh block Baghel's convoy
Congress workers and supporters of Pratibha Singh blocked Baghel's car and raised slogans like, "Humara CM kaisa ho, Rani sahiba jaisa ho," (How should our CM be, just like Her Majesty). Singh led the Congress's poll campaign in the state but didn't contest. She is the wife of Virbhadra Singh, a six-time state CM, and reportedly one of the frontrunners for the CM's post.
The Singhs belong to the state's royal family
The workers referred to Pratibha Singh as Rani sahiba as the Singhs belong to the state's royal family. Pratibha Singh, Congress MP from Mandi, became the state unit's president before the election, while her son Vikramaditya retained the Shimla (Rural) seat in this election.
BJP lost all 5 seats under Anurag Thakur's LS constituency
The hilly state is the home of BJP's national president JP Nadda and Union sports minister Anurag Thakur, who is the son of former two-time state CM Prem Kumar Dhumal. The BJP lost all five Assembly seats falling under Hamirpur, Thakur's Lok Sabha constituency, with small margins. Congress won from Sujanpur, from where Dhumal used to contest, who was BJP's CM candidate in 2017.
Factionalism and rebellion marred BJP's campaign
BJP won all three Assembly seats in Nadda's constituency, Bilaspur. Reportedly, factionalism hurt the BJP in this election as it trifurcated between Nadda, Anurag Thakur, and Jairam Thakur. The party also saw rebels fighting on at least 21 seats. Although only two of them won, the others garnered significant votes which, if not for the mutiny, would have gone to the BJP.
Jairam Thakur conceded defeat
Outgoing CM Jairam Thakur conceded defeat and tendered his resignation to the governor after the people of Himachal Pradesh perpetuated the trend continuing since 1985 of oscillating between the BJP and Congress in each term. Congress leaders credited the electoral win to the party's general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who helmed the state's poll campaign.
