Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 1 (ANI): Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Anurag Thakur cast his vote in Hamirpur on Saturday in the last phase of general elections.
His father and former Himachal Pradesh CM Prem Kumar Dhumal also cast his vote in Hamirpur.
Anurag Thakur said, “If you see the polling booths, people have a huge enthusiasm. People are celebrating the festival of democracy. Everyone has come out to cast their votes for good government. The workers of the BJP have done a lot of work for the people and I believe that we will get the blessings of the people. I think if Congress is not participating in the exit poll discussions then it itself says a lot.”
Former Himachal CM Prem Kumar Dhumal appealed to the people to come out and vote in large numbers.
“This is the great festival of democracy. I appeal to everyone to vote. There should be 100% voting and the right government should be elected. We will win all four seats with a majority,” he said.
Hamirpur can be considered a stronghold of the BJP as the seat was represented by Anurag Thakur’s father and former Himachal Pradesh CM Prem Kumar Dhumal.
Incumbent MP Thakur is in the electoral fray against Congress’ Satpal Raizada on the Hamirpur seat. Anurag is seeking his fifth term from the seat after winning it in 2008 when he had first won it in a by-poll.
Thakur has focused his campaign on highlighting the developmental projects in Hamirpur during his previous tenures. In 2019, Thakur defeated the Congress’s Ram Lal Thakur by about 4 lakh votes.
In the Hamirpur elections, the stakes are high for both the BJP and the Congress. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu hails from Hamirpur’s Nadaun, which he also represents in the Assembly.
Notably, six Congress MLAs had turned rebel and cross-voted for the BJP in the February 2024 Rajya Sabha election following which they were disqualified, which took the Congress’s tally down to 34, just above the simple majority mark in the current 62-member House.
Voting is also underway at six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh in by-polls today. The outcome will have a bearing on the Congress government in the state.
A total of 904 candidates are in the fray for the final phase of polling. The prominent candidates in the fray in this phase include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nishikant Dubey, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Congress leaders Manish Tewari, Charanjit Singh Channi, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Misa Bharti.
Polling for the earlier six phases of Lok Sabha elections was held on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20 and May 25. Assembly polls have also been held in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Odisha is seeing simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and assembly in the last four phases. (ANI)
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