SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh has dived headfirst into election fever as heady season of Chunav Ka Parv phase-7 begins ...
The Election Commission of India just announced elections for four Lok Sabha seats and six state assembly seats, upping political tempers of candidates and rivals.
As many as over 55.56 lakh voters will vote their four MPs on June 1 when Himachal goes to polls along with 8 states/UTs in the last phase-7 of polling for 57 Lok Sabha constituencies across the country.
Voters have kept their cards close to their chest, giving candidates and their parties sleepless nights.
They will cast their votes on June 1 from 7 AM to 6 PM and the results will be out on June 4.
So, here's the lowdown: the Lok Sabha seats up for poll fights are Shimla, Mandi, Kangra, and Hamirpur. And on the assembly side, we've got Dharamshala, Sujanpur, Barsar, Kutlehar, Gagret, and Lahaul-Spiti.
It sounds and looks like it is "Congress rebels vs Congress candidates" on six assembly seats.
As as far as Four Lok sabha seats are concerned, it is 'Raja' Vikramaditya Singh vs 'Queen Kangana Ranaut in Mandi, one of the largest segment in India.
Singh will defend the seat as currently it is represented by PCC president and his mother Pratibha Singh, with Singh hoping to make it big, cashing in on the legacy of his father Late 'Raja' Virbhadra Singh, a six time CM of Himachal, whose 55 years long career has ushered into a political saga in Himachal Pradesh.
Bollywood controversial star, popular for her outbursts, Kangana Ranaut is making waves on social media and on the ground zero as BJP and RSS are presenting her as a dream 'queen of Himachal' and a brand ambassador of its "Akhand Bharat Idea".
Ambitious Kangana, in turn, is giving sleepless nights to state BJP titans like Jai Ram Thakur and Anurag Thakur as Kangana was on record saying that "she would be here for a long innings and she will have her own team".
In Kangra, it is new comers in electoral battle- Congress Anand Sharma vs Rajiv Bhardwaj testing the ground.
While stature of Sharma is popular nationwide as he has been the Commerce and Industry minister in the Dr Manmohan Singh UPA government, and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, but he is new to Lok Sabha elections and in Kangra as well.
Much will depend how people of Kangra divided on caste lines would take the candidacy of Sharma.
Rajiv Bhardwaj is new to polls but he enjoys backup of the RSS and BJP.
In Hamirpur, IB Minister Anurag Singh Thakur, has emerged as a mass leader at his own right in the constituency as he faces a novice Satpal Raizada of the Congress.
In Shimla reserved, the sitting BJP MP Suresh Kashyap faces anti-incumbency as Congress Vinod Sultanpuri is young candidate and Congress has strong foothold in a Shimla seat.
These announcements are like a starting gun for political parties, signaling the beginning of an all-out battle.
Candidates are officially invited to jump into the fray by filing their nomination papers between May 7th and May 14th, as outlined by the local Returning Officers.
For both Lok Sabha and assembly seats, the rules are pretty straightforward: get your nomination papers in on time, then brace yourself for the scrutiny process on May 15th at 11AM at the respective RO offices.
After that, candidates have until May 17th to withdraw their nominations by 3 PM.
Finally, mark your calendars for the big voting day, which is set for June 1st.
Get ready for a whirlwind of campaigning, plotting, and politicking as parties and candidates hustle for support and votes.
The campaigns are have been pitched up on most seats.
But Congress has yet to announce party candidate for Dharamshala by-election seat.
People all across the state are getting amped up for the political showdown that's about to go down.
So, hold onto your hats because it's about to get into a political wilderness in Himachal Pradesh.
