Congress Fields Heavyweight Satpal Singh Raizada In Hamirpur

Congress nominated the former Una MLA, Satpal Singh Raizada, to contest in Himachal Pradesh”s Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency. Satpal Singh is the state vice-president of the party.

Hamirpur election will be complicated and decisive as the Congress heavyweight faces the incumbent MP and Union Minister Anurag Thakur who is contesting for a fifth term.

Satpal Singh Raizada won the 2017 Assembly Elections by defeating the sitting MLA. But, in 2022, Raizada loss the constituency with a slender margin of 1736 votes. Congress aims to dominate Hamirpur by consolidating majority vote share. Strategising on local support and popularity, Raizada has been nominated as one of the leading faces of the grand old party in Himachal Pradesh.

Aside from the first few elections after inception, Hamirpur has consistently supported the BJP except in 1996 election where the Congress secured victory. The previous two elections were not satisfying for Congress. The Congress vote share has diminished from 41.86 to 28.63 percentage in 2014 and 2019, respectively .

Meanwhile, Anurag Thakur, the sitting MP and cabinet minister, is the BJP candidate. He emerged winner from Hamirpur for the past 4 terms and in one by-election. Raizada has this formidable challenge to pass in order make his first entry to the parliament. Thus, the well-experienced political heavyweights are contesting from Hamirpur.

Despite this, Congress hopes for a win. Since the state is under Congress control, it fortifies the hopes to regain the strength in Lok Sabha as well.

(This story is part of a Timeline. internship project.)