Himachal Pradesh polls: BJP releases list of 62 candidates, includes five women contenders

New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday released the list of 62 candidates for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, fielding Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur from his constituency Seraj.

The polls to the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly will take place on 12 November and the last date for filing nominations is 25 October. The counting of votes will take place on 8 December. While Anil Sharma, son of former Union minister Sukh Ram, will contest from Mandi, senior BJP leader Satpal Singh Satti has been fielded from Una. The party dropped 11 sitting MLAs, including a cabinet minister, and changed the seats of two ministers - Suresh Bharadwaj and Rakesh Pathania. Bharadwaj, a senior BJP leader in the state and a sitting MLA from Shimla Urban constituency, has been fielded from Kasumpti, while Nurpur MLA Pathania has been given a ticket from the neighbouring Fatehpur. Minister Mahendra Singh, MLA from Dharampur, has been replaced by his son Rajat Thakur. The BJP has fielded Chetan Bragta from Jubbal-Kotkhai, who contested as an independent in the by-election after the party had denied him a ticket. The name of former chief minister and veteran party leader Prem Kumar Dhumal did not figure in the list. Party sources said the 78-year-old leader, whose son Anurag Thakur is a Union minister, had conveyed to the party leadership his unwillingness to contest. The list, which features five women candidates, was finalised in Monday’s meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee, whose members include Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders. Some incumbent MLAs have been dropped. The Congress had released its first list of 46 candidates for the Assembly elections on Tuesday. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.