With 15 Assembly segments, the biggest Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh has again proved that whosoever wins in this district wins the state.
The people in Kangra have gone upside down for the ruling party in 2017 polls as well, keeping with the past trend.
The BJP has won 11 against the tally of three in 2012 polls, and Congress went down from 10 to 3 this time. One assembly seat has been won by independent candidate, Hoshiar Singh who defeated former BJP minister Ravinder Singh Ravi by a margin of 3,914 votes.
The politically aware electorate of Kangra voted in favour of BJP in 2017 assembly polls and even the heavyweights of ruling Congress, Sudhir Sharma and G S Bali failed to retain their seats.
The Congress leaders who to managed to retain their seats include Sujan Singh Pathania from Fatehpur constituency, power minister during Congress regime, PawanKajal from Kangra and first timer, AshishButail from Palampur.
Among the winners from BJP, former ministers SarweenChaudhary, Ramesh Dhwala, KishanKapoor, RakeshPathania and Rita Dhiman.
In 2012 assembly elections, Kangra people had voted in favour of Congress party and the party has managed to win 10 seats. While three seats were won by BJP and two seats were won by independent candidates.
It is worthwhile to mention here that Himachal Pradesh has 12 districts, out of which Kangra houses one fourth of the population of state. Out of 68 Assembly segments, it had 15 seats (16 in 2012 assembly elections).
The number of constituencies, however, was reduced to 15 in delimitation (implemented in 2012 polls). Mandi district is the second biggest with 10 Assembly segments and Shimla third with eight segments. First non-Congress CM Shanta Kumar (who headed the Janata Party government in 1977 in Himachal) hails from Palampur in Kangra, but it has never been a reason for the electorate to have one political leaning.
Similarly, the Congress government’s move in 2005 to have another Assembly building in Dharamshala in Kangra for winter session of state Assembly every year and to have a winter move previous to that in 1995 could not stabilise support for Congress either.
In 1998 polls, the Congress and BJP got 31 seats each, but in Kangra, Congress reduced from 12 in 1993 to four in 1998. In 2007, Congress not only lost power to BJP, but faced defeat even on Dharamshala Assembly seat, getting only six seats in Kangra against 11 in 2003 poll.