BJP's Vishal Nehriya wins Dharamshala by-poll in Himachal Pradesh

On Thursday, the ruling BJP won the by-poll to the Dharamshala constituency in Himachal Pradesh. Its candidate Vishal Nehriya won against his nearest rival Rakesh Kumar, who is an independent. His victory margin was 6,673 votes. At the same time, the Congress candidate Vijay Inder Karan was relegated to the third place. The Pachhad constituency has also gone to the polls. In the 2017 Assembly elections, the victory margin of Kishan Kapoor of the BJP over Sudhir Sharma of the Congress was of 2,997 votes. 

Read: Himachal Bypoll: Nearly 40 Pc Polling On Two Assembly Seats Till 1 Pm

Read: Haryana Assembly Election Results LIVE: Unite Against BJP, Says Hooda

By-polls in Himachal Pradesh

The Pachhad constituency witnessed a contest between Reena Kashyap of BJP and Congress’ Gangu Ram Musafir. However, the trends of the Election Commission of India indicate that BJP’s candidate has an edge over his Congress opponent. The voting took place on October 21. Polling was held across 202 stations, including 113 stations in Pachhad and 89 in Dharamshala. An auxiliary polling station was also set up at the Dari old-age home to facilitate 24 elderly inmates to cast their votes in Dharamshala. The voter turnout as ascertained by the officials was 67.97%.  

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The by-elections to Pachhad and Dharamshala constituencies were necessitated due to the fact that the sitting Members of Legislative Assembly, Suresh Kashyap, and Kishan Kapoor were elected to the Lok Sabha in May 2019. In Dharamshala, the victory margin of Kishan Kapoor of the BJP over Sudhir Sharma of the Congress was of 2,997 votes. A total of 7 and 5 candidates were in the fray from Dharamshala and Pachhad constituency respectively.  

Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana

Counting is underway for the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections as well. In Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is set to cross the half-way mark. However, they may end up short of their 2014 Assembly election seat figures. On the other hand, there is a neck-to-neck battle between BJP and Congress in Haryana. 

Read: Punjab Bypolls: Cong Ahead In 3 Seats; SAD Leading In 1