One of the four BJP rebels on the Dharamsala bypoll shortlist is: Sukhu Sukhvinder Singh

Here, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu met with Kangra district and Dharamsala Congress leaders today. Speaking to reporters, Sukhu said that the Congress has selected four likely candidates for the Dharamsala Assembly by-election. Interestingly, one of the selected candidates’ names is that of a BJP renegade.

He claimed that the likely candidates for the Dharamsala bypoll were Sheilja Katoch, the daughter-in-law of former Union minister Chander Kumari, Rakesh Chaudhary, former mayor of Dharamsala Davinder Jaggi, and Vijay Inder Karan. He also said that the candidates for the Assembly byelections and Lok Sabha elections will shortly be named.

Sukhu said that preserving democracy was the goal of the nation’s Lok Sabha elections as well as the six Assembly byelections in Himachal Pradesh. “The BJP has used financial power to overthrow elected governments in a number of states. The BJP is a power-hungry party that will stop at nothing to seize control. The BJP has attempted to overthrow the Congress administration in Himachal Pradesh by manipulating defections. But in order to preserve democracy, I firmly believe that the people of Himachal Pradesh would respond appropriately to the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly bypoll. The nation will look to the state as an example,” he said.

Sukhu said that during last year’s monsoon crisis, the BJP failed to provide assistance to the state. “The Central Government did not provide a special package, despite the state suffering losses over Rs 10,000 crore. Additionally, the Center declined to classify the rainstorm as a national emergency. In order to assist the state’s citizens, the administration was forced to examine its limited funding. For those who had sustained losses as a result of the natural calamity, our administration issued a special compensation worth Rs 4,500 crore,” he said.

Sukhu visited candidates running for the Kangra Lok Sabha seat and the Dharamsala bypoll. He also had a meeting with Kangra district Congress leaders to talk about the electoral plan. The Chief Minister was also visited by Vipin Singh Nehria, a former district president of the BJP’s ST Cell, who was from Dharamsala.

Sukhu paid his respects at the Chamunda Devi shrine later that evening. He planned to remain in Dharamsala tonight and engage in discussions with Congress leaders to finalize a plan for the next elections.