Solan holds key to victory from Shimla seat

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan,March 19

Candidates from Solan district emerge victorious from the Shimla Lok Sabha seat for the last about three decades if the previous poll results are any indication.

The seat, a traditional Congress bastion, was wrested by the BJP’s Virender Kashyap for the first time in 2009 and he repeated his feat in the subsequent Lok Sabha poll in 2014. Kashyap hails from Solan and is again hopeful of getting the ticket for the third time.

The BJP has, however, forwarded one name each from other two districts falling under the Shimla Lok Sabha seat. Suresh Kashyap, who is the sitting MLA from Pachhad in Sirmaur district, and Shashi Bala, who lost the Vidhan Sabha poll from Rohru in Shimla district by about 6,000 votes, are also front runners.

The seat was held for a record six times by Congress’ KD Sultanpuri, who was the party’s unassailable leader from 1980 to 1998. It was snatched by the Himachal Vikas Congress’ DR Shandil in 1999 and in 2004 though he had contested as a Congress nominee in 2004.

Both Sultanpuri and Shandil have their roots in Solan district. Though Sultanpuri’s son Vinod Sultanpuri’s name also figures in the Congress poll panel, since he has lost two successive Vidhan Sabha polls, it remains to be seen if he is chosen over DR Shandil who, despite being the sitting MLA from Solan, has applied for the Congress ticket. Both hail from Solan district and are hopeful of being the party’s nominee. The Congress lost this seat in 2014 when it had fielded Mohan Lal Brakta from Rohru. Brakta failed to muster adequate votes from Solan and Sirmaur and the seat was wrested by the BJP. Brakta had lost by 84,187 votes.

The BJP’s decision to field HN Kashyap, a former HAS officer, in 2004 had also not yielded result though the winning margin was a mere 8,180 votes. Solan and Sirmaur districts proved decisive in scripting the BJP’s victory in 2014 where Virender Kashyap had secured a lead of 71,779 votes. The BJP gained a maximum lead of 48,655 votes from Solan district and 23,124 from Sirmaur. With the BJP winning this seat barely on two occasions, it remains to be seen who will be given the ticket.

Solan connection

• BJP’s Virender Kashyap won for the first time in 2009 and he repeated his feat in 2014.
• The seat was held for a record six times by Congress’ KD Sultanpuri, who was the party’s unassailable leader from 1980 to 1998
• It was snatched by the Himachal Vikas Congress’ DR Shandil in 1999 and in 2004 though he had contested as a Congress nominee in 2004
• The Congress lost this seat in 2014 when it had fielded Mohan Lal Brakta from Rohru.