Solan plays decisive role for Shimla seat

Ambika Sharma
Tribune News Service
Solan, May 23

Solan district yet again played a decisive role for the Shimla Lok Sabha seat, where BJP candidate  Suresh Kashyap secured the highest lead of  1,23,845 votes to romp home a comfortable winning margin.  

Comprising three districts of Solan, Sirmaur and Shimla, the  party secured a lead in all five Assembly segments of Solan district, though it has sitting MLAs in merely two Assembly segments of Doon and Kasauli.  

Congress  candidate DR Shandil, who is also a sitting MLA from Solan, failed to obtain any  lead from the district, leaving the party functionaries high and dry. 

Nalagarh registered the  highest margin of  39,970 votes in the state, while in Arki,  Kashyap secured a lead of 29,454 votes, which was considered a big achievement as it is the hometurf of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the BJP had been trounced from this seat in 2017. 

With lack of cohesive campaigning, the Congress failed to rejuvenate its cadres and the fact that it faced shortage of even polling agents at several booths spoke volumes of the half-baked approach of the party towards campaigning. 

The BJP secured the lowest lead of 16,188 votes from Solan, which is the home bastion of Congress candidate DR Shandil and the second highest lead of 17,488 votes from Kasauli, which is the hometurf 

of the district’s lone minister, Rajiv Saizal.

In Doon too, the BJP managed to maintain  a lead of 20,745 votes,  while the Congress’ performance failed to match up to the BJP in any way.The BJP maintained a lead right from the first round, which increased substantially till the last round and it appears that the massive poll rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national president Amit Shah 

did energise the party cadres to vote overwhelmingly for the candidates. 

Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Solan failed to add vigour to the party cadres.