Union minister Anurag Thakur secures massive victory from Hamirpur
Updated: Jun 4th, 2024
Anurag Thakur |
Anurag Thakur has secured a victory from Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur constituency against Congress’ Satpal Raizada.
The sitting MP Thakur was eyeing to win Hamirpur seat for the fifth time in a row.
This time, Thakur aimed to surpass the 2019 historical win with a victory margin of about 4 lakh votes, underscoring the electorate's continued support for BJP in the hill state.
Hamirpur is BJP's bastion from where Anurag Thakur's father and two-time Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal was thrice elected as an MP.
Traditionally, this Lok Sabha seat, made up of 17 assembly constituencies, has been with the BJP since 1998, when Suresh Chandel was elected as the MP. He continued till 2004.
In 2007 Dhumal became the MP from Hamirpur but he later resigned to take over as the Chief Minister. This necessitated the bypoll and since 2008, Anurag Thakur has been the MP. His maiden electoral victory was at the age of 34.
Ground reports say it will not be a challenge for the Union Minister to retain this seat as legislators of three of five Assembly seats in Hamirpur, the home district of the father-son duo, which were earlier won by the state ruling Congress in December 2022 polls, have switched sides and joined the BJP.
The Congress won four of the five Assembly constituencies in the district while an Independent won the seat, once the stronghold of the Dhumal family.
In the run-up to the vote, Rajinder Rana, who had won as a Congress legislator from Sujanpur -- from where Anurag Thakur's father Dhumal used to contest, is in the fray as the BJP candidate for the Assembly by-poll.
Likewise, Congress turncoat legislator Inder Dutt Lakhanpal from Badsar is in the fray for the Assembly by-poll as the BJP candidate.
Rana and Lakhanpal were among six MLAs who faced disciplinary action from the Congress for cross-voting after the BJP won the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state.
Independent legislator Ashish Sharma from Hamirpur also extended support to the BJP in the Rajya Sabha poll.
The parliamentary constituency has a significantly high literacy rate. It consists of 17 Assembly segments, which include all five segments of Una district, five from Hamirpur, four from Bilaspur, two from Kangra and one Assembly segment from Mandi district.
Banking on the Narendra Modi factor, Anurag Thakur believes when "you work and deliver there is no question of anti-incumbency, rather there is pro-incumbency".
The Congress, which last won the Hamirpur seat in 1996, in 2019, pitted then-sitting legislator Ram Lal Thakur against Anurag Thakur. The latter got elected that too with a record margin of about four lakh votes, with a vote share of 69%.
In every parliamentary election in the state, which witnesses a bipolar contest between the Congress and the BJP, Hamirpur has been witnessing more aggressive campaigning as compared to the other three Lok Sabha constituencies -- Shimla (reserved), Kangra and Mandi.
In his political pitch, it is always Anurag Thakur's father and two-time Chief Minister Dhumal who plays an important role by devoting maximum time and energy to ensure his son's victory. He has thrice represented the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency and has amazing rapport.
In the 2019 general polls, the BJP had won all four parliamentary seats. Later in the bypoll, the Congress won the Mandi seat.
(with inputs from syndicated feed)
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