Won bypolls due to workers' hard work, poll management: Himachal BJP chief

The ruling BJP has attributed its victory in the bypolls to two assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh to the election management and party workers' hard work.

Talking to PTI, Himachal BJP president Satpal Singh Satti said the BJP emerged victorious on both seats of Dharamshala and Pachhad despite the challenge posed by the rebels who contested as independent candidates.

The BJP emerged victorious despite rebel candidates in the fray from both seats, Satti said, adding that the Congress candidate in Dharamshala even lost his deposit due to the poll management of the BJP and party workers' hard work.

The people of the state had again rejected the Congress, he added.

In reply to a question that the victory margin of the party came down in comparison with the 2017 assembly elections in Pachhad, Satti said the BJP succeeded in winning the seat despite the rebel candidate getting over 11,000 votes.

In the last assembly elections in 2017, Suresh Kashyap of the BJP had defeated his nearest rival and former minister Gangu Ram Musafir by 6,427 votes in Pachhad.

This time, Reena Kashyap (22,048 votes) of the BJP defeated Musafir (19,306 votes) by a margin of just 2,742 votes.

Dayal Pyari, who contested as an independent after the BJP denied her the ticket, was polled 11,651 votes.

Rakesh Kumar, who also contested as an independent from Dharamshala after the denial of ticket, secured 16,740 votes.

In Dharamshala, Vijay Inder Karan of the Congress remained on the third place with just 8,212 votes.

He even lost his security deposits as he failed to get the required one-sixth of the valid polled votes.

BJP's Vishal Nehria (23,498 votes) defeated his nearest rival Rakesh Kumar (16,740 votes) by a margin of 6,758 votes.