Himachal Pradesh polls |BJP releases first list of 62 candidates

Ahead of the Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh on November 12, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its first list of 62 candidates.

Chief Minister Jairam Thakur will contest from Seraj, Anil Sharma, son of former Union minister Sukh Ram has been fielded from Mandi. However, the party has also dropped many incumbent legislators from the list.

The list of candidates has been released a day after the meeting of the party’s central election committee chaired by Jagat Prakash Nadda.

The meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, the party’s state unit chief  Suresh Kashy, former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa and others.

The last date for filing nominations is October 25 and the results will be declared on December 8. The state has 68 seats in the Assembly.

The list released by the BJP is also featuring five women candidates. On Tuesday, the Congress had released a list of 46 candidates, whereas the Aam Aadmi Party, which is making inroads in the state has already released list of  four candidates.

Himachal Pradesh will have single-phase polling on November 12 and it was announced by Election Commission last week.

In 2017, BJP won 44 seats in the hill state.