The Nachan Assembly Constituency has Vinod Kumar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Naresh Kumar from the Indian National Congress (INC), and Jabna Chauhan of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contesting for this year’s Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections.
Himachal Pradesh has been a swing state for the BJP and the Congress for the last three decades. It is one of the few states where the BJP and Congress have been having a direct battle. Both parties have received roughly 40% of the stable vote share on a consistent basis (except in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when the Congress vote share fell down to 27 per cent). . While the BJP hopes to reverse the trend, the AAP’s entry into the HP Assembly Elections has presented new challenges for both opposition parties.
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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, Vinod Kumar of the BJP won the seat by defeating his closest rival Lal Singh Kaushal of the INC with a margin of 15,896 votes. Independent candidate Satya Prakash also contested the 2017 election.
Nachan is one of the 68 assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh. Nachan falls under the Mandi district and Mandi Lok Sabha Constituency. Nachan has more than 86,000 eligible voters. This constituency is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.
In 2012, Vinod Kumar of the BJP defeated Tek Chand Dogra of the Congress by 3,031 votes. Khem Raj of Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP), Roshan Lal Thakural of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and independent candidates Damodar Singh and Bimla Devi 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 Nachan Assembly seat
Name of the assembly constituency, district: Nachan, Mandi district
Polling date: November 12, 2022
Sitting MLA, party: Vinod Kumar (BJP)
Key candidates, party in 2022: Vinod Kumar (BJP), Naresh Kumar (INC), Jabna Chauhan (AAP)
Winning candidate, party in 2017: Vinod Kumar, BJP
Runner-up name, party 2017: Lal Singh Kaushal, INC
Winning margin in 2017: 15,896
Top 3 candidates 2017: Lal Singh Kaushal (INC), Vinod Kumar (BJP), Satya Prakash (Independent)
Top 3 candidates 2012: Vinod Kumar (BJP), Tek Chand Dogra (INC), Damodar Singh (Independent)
Lok Sabha constituency: Mandi
