Kangra’s political battleground: Congress eyes stronghold, BJP seeks to reclaim seat

Under the shadows of enchanting Dhauladhar ranges, influenced and shaped by Rajput dynasties and blessed by popular deities--- Chamunda Mata, Brijeshwari, and Jawala Ji, besides Tibetan Spiritual leader Dalai Lama, Kangra – the ‘political capital’ that holds the key to any government in Himachal Pradesh, is a constituency with diversities.

Diversities not only of ideologies but also geographical, social, cultural, and religious. So, when Kangra goes to the polls on June 1, the constituency is certainly going to decide the course of Himachal politics and Congress governance.

The Congress, which formed its government in 2022 winning 40 assembly seats against 25 of the BJP, took away the largest chunk of 11 seats out of a total of 15, proving itself as an acknowledged political force that has ruled the state for a maximum period ever since Himachal came into being.

In Chamba, which is also part of the Kangra Parliamentary constituency, a mixed mandate was thrown up, electing two Congress MLAs while three went to the BJP, making senior Congress leader Asha Kumari—a six-time MLA, lose her Dalhousie seat to the BJP.

Kangra, said to be one of the country’s largest districts, is in for a decisive battle with Congress sending senior national leader Anand Sharma, the party’s Brahmin face, to the contest. He is contesting his first parliamentary election as his maiden bid to enter electoral politics from Shimla was foiled by his defeat to the BJP in 1982. Later he was taken to national politics by Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Though he was always considered a 110-Janpath man, because of his association with the G-23 group he got pushed apart. The Lok Sabha election is a good opportunity to regain his foothold in the state and also the Congress. The BJP, which had fielded Gaddi leader and former minister Krishan Kapoor in 2019—who won the seat with an all-time high margin of 4.77 lakhs—has replaced him with Dr. Rajeev Bhardwaj, an organizational man and loyalist of Shanta Kumar, despite not commanding a large goodwill of the Kangra leaders.