Three independent MLAs who resigned from the Vidhan Sabha and subsequently joined the BJP following their pivotal votes in favor of the party during this year’s Rajya Sabha elections have been nominated to contest from their respective assembly constituencies in upcoming bypolls.
Ashish Sharma from Hamirpur, Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra, and K L Thakur from Nalagarh are among the BJP candidates announced on Thursday. The by-elections are scheduled for July 10.
Earlier in February, these three Independent MLAs, along with six Congress rebels, supported BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the polls, leading to Mahajan’s victory. Subsequently, on March 22, they resigned from their legislative posts.
Their resignations were officially accepted by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on June 3, following the completion of by-elections for the seats vacated by the Congress rebels and the Lok Sabha elections.
Despite the BJP’s mixed results in the recent by-elections, where Congress secured four seats and BJP two out of six contested, the party has opted to field all three independent candidates once again.
Both the BJP and Congress have appointed their respective in-charges for the upcoming assembly bypolls in these three constituencies.
K L Thakur has previously served as MLA twice from Nalagarh, first winning in 2012 under the BJP banner and later in 2022 as an Independent. Similarly, Hoshiyar Singh has represented Dehra twice, winning as an Independent in the 2017 and 2022 assembly elections, while Ashish Sharma is a first-time MLA from Hamirpur.
