BJP wins Dharamshala Assembly bye-election in Himachal, leading on another

Shimla: The ruling BJP won the Dharamsala seat, while it is on its way to retain the Pachhad seat in Himachal Pradesh where by-polls were held on October 21, election officials said on Thursday.

BJP candidate Vishal Nehriya won Dharamsala by a margin of 6,673 votes. He defeated his nearest rival Rakesh Kumar, an independent candidate. Congress candidate Vijay Inder Karan was in third place.

In Pachhad, Reena Kashyap of the BJP is leading by 1,543 votes over her nearest rival Gangu Ram Musafir of the Congress after the first round of counting.

Nearly 68 per cent of the 1,56,624 voters exercised their franchise on Monday for the by-elections.

The elections were necessitated as Kishan Kapoor and Suresh Kashyap resigned from their respective seats as they were elected to the Lok Sabha.

The BJP has 44 seats in the 68-member state Assembly.