The former royals of Himachal Pradesh, who once made a mark in politics, are losing their charm as only two of them won the state polls this time, while the other two lost.
Vikramaditya Singh, son of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and a scion of the erstwhile royal family of Rampur Bushahr, won from Shimla Rural by a margin of 13,860 votes, while Anirudh Singh of the erstwhile royal family of Koti won from Kasumpti seat.
Virbhadra Singh dominated the politics of the state for more than four decades and served as chief minister several times. His wife Pratibha Singh, who belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Keonthal, is currently the state Congress chief and is the frontrunner for the chief minister’s post.
While Vikramaditya Singh defeated BJP’s Ravi Mehta, Anirudh Singh defeated the outgoing Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj by a margin of 8,865 votes. Bhardwaj had changed his seat from Shimla Urban to Kasumpti.
On the other hand, Congress’s Asha Kumari from the erstwhile royal family of Chamba lost by a margin of 9,918 votes from Dalhousie, a seat she had won six times in a row.
Former Shahi Hiteshwar Singh of Kullu, who stood as an Independent, also lost the Banjar assembly seat to BJP’s Surendra Shourie. Hiteshwar Singh got 14,932 votes, Shourie got 24,241 votes and Congress’s Khimi Ram got 19,963 votes.
Another former royal scion Maheshwar Singh, who is Hiteshwar’s father, was also in the fray in this election but withdrew in favor of the BJP.
He was initially nominated by the BJP as its official candidate, but was denied a ticket after his son filed nomination as an independent candidate from the Banjar constituency.
read all latest politics news Here