The Sri Naina Devji Assembly
Constituency has Randhir Sharma of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ram Lal
Thakur from the Indian National Congress (INC), and Narender Thakur of the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) making it a three-way contest for this year’s Himachal Pradesh
Assembly Elections. 

Also Read | 5 issues Himachalis will be voting on this election

Himachal Pradesh has been
governed alternately by the BJP and Congress since the 1985 elections. However,
with the entrance of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP in the HP elections this year,
many expect the state’s political landscape to change.

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, Ram Lal Thakur of the Congress defeated Randhir Sharma of the BJP by 1,042 votes. Balak Ram Sharma of the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) and independent candidates Ramesh Chand and Sukh Ram Thakur also contested the elections in 2017.

Sri Naina Devji is one of the
68 assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh. Sri Naina Devji falls under the
Bilaspur district and Hamirpur Lok Sabha Constituency. Sri Naina Devji has more
than 74,000 eligible voters. 

Also Read | 5 key battlegrounds in Himachal this poll season

In 2012, Randhir Sharma of the BJP
defeated Ram Lal Thakur of the Congress INC by 1,385 votes. Krishan Kumar of
the Communist Party of India Marxist, Bhola Ram of the Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) and independent candidates Hoshiar Singh and Puran Chand Bhatia 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.

Quick facts about the Sri Naina
Devji Assembly seat  

Name of the assembly
constituency, district: Sri Naina Devji, Bilaspur district

Polling date: November 12, 2022

Sitting MLA, party: Ram Lal
Thakur, INC

Key candidates, party in 2022:
Narender Thakur (AAP), Randhir Sharma (BJP), Ram Lal Thakur (INC)

Winning candidate, party in
2017: Ram Lal Thakur, INC

Runner-up name, party
2017:  Randhir Sharma, BJP   

Winning margin in 2017: 
1,042

Top 3 candidates 2017: Ram Lal
Thakur (INC), Randhir Sharma (BJP), Ramesh Chand (Independent)

Top 3 candidates 2012: Ram Lal
Thakur (INC), Randhir Sharma (BJP), Krishan Kumar (CPIM)

Lok Sabha constituency: Hamirpur