In J P Nadda’s home district, where rebels were in fray, slender wins for BJP

The rebels had contested as Independents ignoring Nadda's appeals to step down

J P Nadda’s son Harish, 27, too had pitched in and campaigned extensively. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

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EVEN AS the BJP lost Himachal Pradesh, party president J P Nadda, who had made the election in his home state a prestige issue, was spared the blushes in native Bilaspur district. The BJP eventually won three of the four Assembly seats in the district, though two were with wafer-thin margins. The Congress won the fourth.

With rebellion threatening the BJP’s prospects in Bilaspur, as in other areas, J P Nadda’s son Harish, 27, too had pitched in and campaigned extensively.

Read in Explained | Advantage Congress in Himachal: Five reasons why voters are leaning towards the party

In two of the four constituencies, BJP rebels stayed in the fray, some of them considered to be Nadda’s own men, who refused to heed the party president’s appeal to step down.

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In Bilaspur Assembly seat, the BJP’s Trilok Jamwal finish ahead by merely 276 votes. This was one of the constituencies where Harish had campaigned, and where a BJP rebel, Subhash Sharma, contested as an Independent. Sharma got 1,499 votes.

In Sri Naina Deviji constituency, the BJP’s Randhir Sharma had an even slender victory margin, of 171 votes. Only Jeet Ram Katwal, a retired IAS officer and the sitting BJP MLA, won comfortably in Hamirpur district, retaining Jhanduta seat by 5,799 votes. This was despite Jhanduta seeing a BJP rebel in Raj Kumar Kaundal, the son of former BJP MLA Rikhi Ram Kaundal, who contested as Independent after being denied the party ticket. He polled 8,358 votes.

The Congress secured the Ghumarwin constituency of the district, with its candidate Rajesh Dharmani winning by 5,611 votes.