M A I N   N E W S

Cong sweeps tribal seats
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 11
The Congress made a clean sweep of the elections in tribal areas winning all three Assembly seats with impressive margins. It wrested the Kinnaur and Bharmour seats from the BJP and the Lahaul-Spiti seat from the Himachal Vikas Congress.

Mr Thakur Singh Bharmouri (Congress) won the Bharmour seat defeating his nearest rival, Mr Tulsi Ram (BJP), by 9,692. The Congress candidate from Kinnaur, Mr Jagat Singh Negi defeated Mr Tejwant Negi (BJP) by 7,406 votes. Mr S.C. Negi (HVC) got 2,728 votes and Mr Sukh Dev (CPM) secured 1,638 votes.

From the Lahaul-Spiti segment, Mr Raghubir Singh of the Congress defeated Dr Ram Lal Markandey, a former HVC minister, by 4,768 votes. Mr Yuv Raj (BJP) got only 1,961 votes.

Expressing satisfaction over the results, Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, said it was a vote for the progressive and far-sighted policies of the Congress. He said the results had once again exposed the BJP, which had failed to safeguard the interests of the people.

The BJP maintained that the tribal electorate had always favoured the party in power in the state. Mr Ganesh Dutt, party spokesperson, said the BJP accepted the verdict with all humility.

The results:

Bharmour

Mr Kartar Singh (HVC) 626 votes; Mr Thakur Singh (Congress) 21,869; Mr Tulsi Ram (BJP) 12,177; Mr Jaram Singh (Independent) 371; and Mr Ram Parsad (Independent) 468.

Mr Thakur Singh wins by 9,692 votes.

Kinnaur

Mr Jagat Singh Negi (Congress) 19,052 votes; Mr Tejwant Negi (BJP) 11,646; Mr S.C. Negi (HVC) 2,728, and Mr Sukh Dev (CPM) 1,638; Mr Negi wins by 7,406 votes.

Lahaul-Spiti

Mr Raghubir Singh (Congress) 9,450 votes; Mr Yuv Raj (BJP) 1,961; Dr R.L. Markandey (HVC) 4,690; Mr Amarjeet Singh (Him Lok Tantrik Morcha) 122; Mr Phunchuk Rai (Independent) 35; Mr Rigzin (Independent) 33; Mr Shyam Chand (Independent) 55; and Mr Hira Lal (Independent) 328.

Mr Raghubir Singh wins by 4,768 votes.

Meanwhile, the results have come as a shot in the arm of Mr Virbhadra Singh, who spearheaded the Congress campaign in the topographically difficult areas to woo the electorate.

By winning all seats, the Raja of the erstwhile Rampur Bushair state has proved that his charisma still works in these areas.

The Congress has completed the humiliation of the BJP by raising its final tally in the 68-member House to 43. The BJP has only 16 legislators. The fact that its candidate lost the security deposit in Lahaul-Spiti and lost with huge margins in the other two seats only indicate that the support of the HVC had been crucial to it in the last Assembly elections.

While Mr Virbhadra Singh has emerged stronger, the graph of his arch rival Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, leader of the BJP legislation group, has further gone down. It was the first election after the BJP high command sacked Mr Shanta Kumar, a former union minister, holding him responsible for the party’s defeat in the February poll. Had the party done well in the tribal segment, the action of the high command would have been justified.

The Congress, which knocked out the BJP using the corruption issue in February poll, highlighted the alleged involvement of the BJP leaders in the HPSSSB recruitment scam in these elections.