SHIMLA: For the remaining two Lok Sabha seats of Hamirpur and Kangra, the Congress high command has finally declared candidates on Tuesday with former union minister Anand Sharma fielded from Kangra and former Una MLA Satpal Raizada from Hamirpur. With this now Congress too has announced candidates in all four Lok Sabha seats. Congress has already declared PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh from Mandi and Kasauli MLA Vinod Sultanpuri from Shimla.
In his political career spanning over 50 years, Anand Sharma has mostly remained a member of Rajya Sabha and had faced the electoral battle only once when he unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election in 1982.While contesting on Congress ticket from Shimla assembly seat, he had lost to BJP’s Daulat Ram by a margin of 2945 votes. Daulat Ram had secured 12314 votes while Anand Sharma had got 9369 votes.
Congress was searching a Brahmin face in Kangra Lok Sabha seat after BJP fielded a Brahmin leader Rajeev Bhardwaj. Though names of former minister and former Dalhousie MLA Asha Kumari was also doing the rounds from Kangra seat but following the candidature of Rajeev Bhardwaj, the Congress high command preferred Anand Sharma over her.
BJP had denied ticket to sitting MP Kishan Kapoor this time and preferred to field Rajeev Bhardwaj, a close loyalist of former chief minister Shanta Kumar, who is contesting his first election. Congress had last won from Kangra Lok Sabha seat in 2004 after that BJP is winning from this seat consecutively.
Similarly, Congress was trying to find a strong leader against BJP candidate and union minister Anurag Thakur but after the refusal of deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri and his daughter Aastha Agnihotri has now finally fielded former Una MLA Satpal Raizada.
Initially, name of Kamlesh Thakur wife of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was doing the rounds as a candidate from Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat but later the name of Mukesh and his daughter doing the rounds but they refused to contest on personal reasons. Satpal Raizada had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 assembly election from Una assembly seat and lost by a margin of 1736 votes.
Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency has been a stronghold of BJP. Before 1998, Congress had definitely won in 1996 but before that in 1989 and 1991 Lok Sabha elections also the people here had elected BJP candidate. In the last 8 elections, BJP has managed to win from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat since 1998. BJP has won from this seat in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 and the by-elections held in 2007 and 2008.