BJP debutant Rajiv Bharadwaj defeats ex-Union minister Anand Sharma in Kangra LS seat

Shimla, Jun 4 (PTI) BJP candidate Rajiv Bharadwaj on Tuesday won from the Kangra Lok Sabha seat, defeating former Union minister and Congress nominee Anand Sharma by a margin of 2,51,895 votes, according to the Election Commission.
     Bharadwaj, a close relative of former chief minister Shanta Kumar, polled 6,32,793 votes against 3,80,898 votes garnered by Sharma.
     Making his debut in the elections at the age of 62, the grassroots BJP worker and a doctor by profession, connected with the electorate as a local, while Sharma hailing from Shimla carried an "outsider" tag.
     Focusing on his five-year agenda for Kangra, Bharadwaj based his campaigning around local issues, besides highlighting the works of the Modi government and the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
     Developing Dharamshala, Mcleodganj, Khajjiar and Palampur as major tourist destinations, completing the Holi-Uttarala tunnel, restoring the Jogindernagar-Pathankot rail service, bringing schemes to generate employment in rural areas and starting a 'Meet your MP' programme were on the BJP candidate's agenda.
     Conceding defeat, Sharma, a four-time Rajya Sabha member, said, "Contesting from Kangra was a splendid experience. I accept my defeat humbly and congratulate Rajiv Bharadwaj for his success."
     "I am thankful to the Congress leadership and colleagues who trusted me and I accepted the party's decision despite knowing that Kangra was a BJP bastion," he told PTI.
     "I am grateful to the people of Kangra and Chamba for their love and affection," he added.
     The Kangra parliamentary constituency has 13 assembly segments of Kangra district and four of Chamba district.
     Since the first Lok Sabha polls in 1951-52, the Congress has bagged the seat 10 times and the BJP six, with Shanta Kumar winning the seat for the party four times.
     With no other prominent candidate in the poll fray to challenge the BJP and the Congress, the Kangra constituency saw a direct contest between two Brahmins although OBCs and ex-servicemen form a large chunk of the electorate.
     While the BJP replaced its sitting MP Kishan Kapoor, hailing from the Gaddi community, with Bharadwaj, the Congress did not retain Pawan Kajal as its candidate.
     In the 2019 polls, Kapoor, who is unwell, had defeated Kajal by a margin of 4,77,623 votes.
     Of the 17 assembly segments in the Kangra Lok Sabha constituency, 11 were won by the Congress in the 2022 state polls.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)