Candidates campaign door-to-door in Nalagarh
Ambika Sharma
Solan, July 9
Candidates concentrated on door-to-door campaigning as well as booth management for the Nalagarh Assembly byelection ahead of voting tomorrow. Both BJP and the Congress candidates focused on consolidating their positions by establishing a personal contact with panchayat pradhans and local leaders.
Congress candidate Hardeep Bawa campaigned door-to-door in the key Changer area, which he considers crucial for securing a sizeable number of votes.
Bawa believes if he attains a strong foothold in the Changer area, which is the home turf of BJP nominee KL Thakur, he can win the byelection. He said that the multiple business interests of KL Thakur had earned him the animosity of the voters, who would support him.
Bawa is contesting the third Assembly elections. He had first fought the elections as an Independent candidate and then as a Congress nominee. He is pinning his hopes on the voters and is expecting victory this time to represent them.
Optimistic of his third victory, KL Thakur has intensified his efforts for booth management in his constituency. He said that the voters from both hilly areas and plains would support him, as they had been deprived of development. He blamed the Congress for the deteriorating law and order in this border industrial belt.
On the issue of BJP rebel Harpreet Saini affecting his winning prospects, KL Thakur said that the Congress would bear the brunt of Saini’s presence as Bawa also hails from the Pargana Plassi area. Saini had secured 5,443 votes in the 2017 elections as an Independent candidate and played spoilsport for the BJP.
Both Bawa and Thakur are facing each other for the third time since 2017. Bawa had contested the 2017 elections as an Independent candidate. Both had lost the elections and Congress candidate Lakhwinder Rana had emerged winner by a narrow margin of 1,242 votes. In the 2022 elections, Thakur had won the seat as an Independent candidate by 13,264 votes. Bawa had contested the elections on the Congress candidate.
