The Dharamshala Assembly Constituency has OBC leader, Rakesh Chowdhury of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Sudhir Sharma from the Indian National Congress (INC) and Kulwant Rana of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) contesting for this year’s Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections.
Rakesh Chowdhury, former AAP leader, previously contested the by-polls of 2019 as an independent candidate. His nomination for this year’s HP Assembly Elections has sparked internal conflicts among the party members, as the sitting BJP MLA, Vishal Nehria was denied a ticket.
Two former BJP leaders, Vipin Naihariya, the party’s ST Morcha Vice President, and BJP district Chief Anil Choudhry have quit BJP after they were denied tickets. They are contesting the election from Dharamshala constituency as independent candidates.
For many years, Himachal Pradesh elections have been fought as a direct contest between the BJP and Congress. Since 1985, the state has been ruled alternately by Congress and the BJP. The state’s has a history of not voting back the party in power. However, the BJP hopes to reverse this trend, while AAP seeks to establish itself in the political landscape of HP.
Also Read: Two BJP leaders quit party, file papers as independents from Dharamshala
The BJP had won 44 of Himachal’s 68 assembly constituencies last time and the Congress had won 21. The CPI(M) had won one seat. A party needs to win 35 seats for a majority to form the government in the state.
In 2017, Kishan Kapoor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the seat by defeating his closest rival Sudhir Sharma of the INC with a margin of 2,997 votes. Vishal Nehria was elected to the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Dharamshala constituency in 2019 as a member of the BJP as the then-incumbent member of the constituency, Kishan Kapoor, got elected as the MP from Kangra Lok Sabha constituency of Himachal Pradesh.
Nisha Katoch of the Swabhiman Party (SWAP), Kashwani Kajal of Bahujan Mukti Party (BMUP), Pawan Choudhary of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and independents Kamal Kumar, Digvijay Puri, Vikas Chaudhary, Anup Dhiman and Subhash Chand Shukla also contested the 2017 election.
Dharamshala is one of the 68 assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh. Dharamshala falls under the Kangra district and Kangra Lok Sabha Constituency, along with 16 Assembly segments, namely, Churah, Chamba, Dalhousie, Bhattiyat, Nurpur, Fatehpur, Jawali, Indora, Jwalamukhi, Jaisinghpur, Sullah, Nagrota, Kangra , Shahpur, Palampur and Baijnath, Sihunta. Dharamshala has more than 81,000 eligible voters.
In 2012, Sudhir Sharma of INC defeated Kishan Kapoor of BJP by 5,000 votes. Sudershan Angaria of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Chinta Har of All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC), Jagdish Chand of Communist Party of India Marxist CPI (M), Gulshan Kumar of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Suraksha Devi of Lok Jan Shakti Party (LSP), Bal Raj Sharma of Samajwadi Party (SP) and independent candidates Naresh Pal Singh, Atul Bhardwaj, Subhash Chand Shukla, Ashwani Kajal Chaudhary, Amar Dass, Kamla Patiyal also contested the HP Assembly Elections in 2012.
Himachal Pradesh votes in a single round on November 12. Results will be announced on December 8. Elections to the Gujarat assembly are also expected to be held in December this year.
Quick facts about the Dharamshala Assembly seat
Name of the assembly constituency, district: Dharamshala, Kangra district
Polling date: November 12, 2022
Sitting MLA, party: Vishal Nehria, BJP
Key candidates, party in 2022: Sudhir Sharma (INC), Kulwant Rana (AAP), Rakesh Chowdhury (BJP)
Winning candidate, party in 2017: Kishan Kapoor, BJP
Runner-up name, party 2017: Sudhir Sharma, INC
Winning margin in 2017: 2,997
Top 3 candidates 2017: Kamal Kumar (Independent), Kishan Kapoor (BJP), Sudhir Sharma (INC)
Top 3 candidates 2012: Sudhir Sharma (INC), Kishan Kapoor (BJP), Kamla Patiyal (Independent)
Lok Sabha constituency: Kangra
