The Jwalamukhi Assembly Constituency has Ravinder Singh Ravi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Sanjay Rattan from the Indian National Congress (INC) and Hoshiyar Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a three-way contest for this year’s Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections.
Also Read: Gujarat Assembly polls: BJP begins process for selection of candidates
For many years, elections in Himachal Pradesh have been a two-party contest between the BJP and Congress. Since 1985, the state has been alternately ruled by Congress and the BJP. The BJP hopes to break the cycle, while Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP hopes to make a dent in the state’s political diaspora.
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, Ramesh Chand Dhawala of Bharatiya Janata Party won the seat by defeating his closest rival Sanjay Rattan of Indian National Congress (INC) with a margin of 6,464 votes. Independent candidates Vijender Kumar and Pratap Singh also contested the election.
Jwalamukhi is one of the 68 assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh. Jwalamukhi falls under the Kangra district and Kangra Lok Sabha Constituency, along with 16 Assembly segments, namely, Churah, Chamba, Dalhousie, Bhattiyat, Nurpur, Fatehpur, Jawali, Indora, Jaisinghpur, Sullah, Nagrota, Kangra, Shahpur, Dharamshala, Palampur and Baijnath, Sihunta. Jwalamukhi has more than 78,000 eligible voters.
In 2012, Sanjay Rattan of INC defeated Ramesh Chand of BJP by 4,025 votes. Parkash Chand of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Dr Madhu Gupta of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), and independent candidate Mohinder Singh 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 Jwalamukhi Assembly seat
Name of the assembly constituency, district: Jwalamukhi, Kangra district
Polling date: November 12, 2022
Sitting MLA, party: Ramesh Chand Dhawala, BJP
Key candidates, party in 2022: Sanjay Rattan (INC), Hoshiyar Singh (AAP), Ravinder Singh Ravi (BJP)
Winning candidate, party in 2017: Ramesh Chand Dhawala (BJP)
Runner-up name, party 2017: Sanjay Rattan (INC)
Winning margin in 2017: 6,464
Top 3 candidates 2017: Ramesh Chand Dhawala (BJP), Sanjay Rattan (INC), Vijender Kumar (Independent)
Top 3 candidates 2012: Ramesh Chand Dhawala (BJP), Sanjay Rattan (INC), Dr Madhu Gupta (AITC)
Lok Sabha constituency: Kangra
