NOVEMBER 2 WAS a happy day for the Congress. Bucking the trend of the ruling party winning byelections in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress swept the four polls—one Lok Sabha and three assembly seats—and told its critics that, indeed, it could take on the BJP in direct contests.
Though the overall results of the byelections to 29 assembly and three Lok Sabha seats were a mixed bag for the two national parties (the Congress won eight assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat; the BJP, seven and one, respectively), the Himachal victory has buoyed the Congress. Pratibha Singh, the widow of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, beat her BJP rival in Mandi—a seat the BJP had won by more than four lakh votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress retained the assembly seats of Fatehpur and Arki, and wrested Jubbal-Kotkhai from the BJP. The BJP candidate there even lost his deposit.
With less than a year to go for the state elections, the 4-0 loss has embarrassed BJP president J.P. Nadda, who belongs to the state, and has rung alarm bells for first-time Chief Minister Jairam Thakur. A few months ago, Thakur had escaped the axe as the BJP changed its chief ministers in a handful of states. Mandi is Thakur's home turf.
Though the overall results can hardly be described as a microcosm of India's political scene, the bypolls carry significant messages for political players.
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