The Congress party has regained control of the Chamba urban local body in Himachal Pradesh after a decade and the Chuwari municipality after 15 years, as confirmed by Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi. The Congress also demonstrated strong performance in the urban local body elections in Chamba district. Negi highlighted that Congress-supported candidates secured both the President and Vice-President positions in Chamba after a decade and in Chuwari after 15 years.
BJP leaders have been accused of diverting attention from critical issues like the increasing prices of petrol, diesel, and cooking gas by falsely claiming victory in the recent panchayat elections, according to Negi. The public is demanding answers from the BJP regarding the inflationary pressures faced by ordinary families due to rising fuel and LPG cylinder costs.
Negi criticized the BJP for attempting to shift focus from real concerns by misrepresenting the results of the Panchayati Raj institution elections as a triumph for the party, despite facing rejection from voters across the state. He emphasized that the panchayat elections were not contested on party symbols, revealing that a significant number of elected pradhans and deputy pradhans were aligned with the Congress.
The results of the urban local body elections also favored the Congress, with Congress-backed candidates securing victories in 29 out of the state’s 53 urban local bodies. Notably, the Congress swept all six municipal bodies in Kangra district, while the BJP failed to secure any wins. The BJP faced a significant defeat in Mandi district, prompting questions about the basis for their claimed victory.
Negi underscored that panchayat elections are typically influenced by personal popularity, local issues, and regional factors rather than party symbols. Despite this, the BJP has been accused of politicizing the results to mislead the public.
