HP civic polls: Congress victory in two out of four Municipal Corporations sets alarm bells ringing for BJP

The victory scored by the Congress in two out of four Municipal Corporations in the Himachal Pradesh civic body polls has set alarm bells ringing for the BJP-led Jai Ram Thakur government in the state.

In the civic body elections held on Wednesday in Palampur, Solan, Mandi and Dharamsala, the Congress won Palampur and Solan municipal elections while the BJP had to be content with wins in Mandi and Dharamsala.

The BJP faced a major embarrassment in the newly-created municipal body in Palampur, the hometown of veteran BJP leader and former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar where the Congress registered its victory in 11 out of 15 wards, restricting the BJP to just two wards.

In Solan, out of 17 wards, the Congress won nine wards while the BJP won seven.

It was a close contest between the Congress and the ruling BJP in Dharamsala, where the saffron party retained eight wards while the Congress managed a victory in five wards. Independent candidates bagged four seats.

In Mandi, the home district of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, the BJP won 11 of the 15 wards while the Congress won in four. The stakes were quite high for Thakur in his own home district where he had virtually been camping since the announcement of the polls.

The elections were held on party symbols and were seen as quite important before the Assembly elections in 2022 for both the ruling BJP and the Congress.