Himachal Pradesh General (Lok Sabha) Elections 2019 Latest News & Live Updates

Himachal Pradesh is a state located in northern India. It was originally a centrally administered territory comprising of 30 former princely states. It became a Union Territory in 1956, and on 25 January 1971 it was granted the status of a separate state of India, after the State of Himachal Pradesh Act 1970 was passed by the Indian Parliament. It is the 18th state of India, and is divided into 12 districts.

Known for its scenic beauty, the hilly state is the third fastest growing economy in India, and has the fourth highest per capita income in the country. With 90% of its population living in rural areas, it is also the least urbanised Indian state.

Member Representation at the Centre

Himachal Pradesh has four Lok Sabha seats (Parliamentary constituencies) in 2019, Kangra, Shimla, Mandi and Hamirpur. Of these, Shimla is reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC). The state sends three members to the Rajya Sabha.

The state legislature is unicameral and has 68 members.

Main Political Parties

The prominent national-level political parties that have their presence in Himachal Pradesh elections are :

• Indian National Congress (INC)
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
• Communist party of India [CPI(M)]

Several regional parties are also active in the hilly state. They are:

• All India tribes and Minorities Front
• Him Loktantric Morcha
• Himachal Kranti Party
• Himachal Vikas Congress
• Himachal Pradesh Lok Raj Party
• Janhit Morcha
• Loktantric Morcha Himachal Pradesh

Election History

In the electoral politics of Himachal Pradesh, the INC and the BJP have been the most prominent players. The INC was in power from 1952 to 1956. Himachal Pradesh was made a Union Territory in 1956 and the office of the Chief Minister ceased to exist from 1956 to 1963. In 1963, elections were held again, and INC came to power, and retained its hold till 1977. In the 1977 elections, the dominance of the INC was challenged by the Janata Party which went on to form the government. The INC made a comeback in the 1980 elections and remained in power till 1990. The BJP won the 1990 elections, and has been a force to reckon within the state since then. Post 1990, the BJP and INC have formed government on alternate basis. The INC won the 1993, 2003 and the 2012 elections while the BJP formed government after the 1998 and 2007 elections. The state assembly elections that took place in November 2017 made BJP's Jai Ram Thankur the current Chief Minister of the state.

The state was under President's rule on two occasions.

In the elections to the Lok Sabha, the INC had a clean sweep till the 1971 elections. In the 1977 elections, the Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) emerged victorious. However, the INC bounced back in the 1984 elections and won all the seats. It repeated this spectacular performance again in the 1996 elections. The BJP emerged as the biggest party for the first time in the 1989 elections, and replicated this feat in the 1998 and the 2009 elections as well. In 1991 elections, the BJP and INC won two seats each, while in the 2004 elections, the INC emerged as the leading party in the state. In the Lok Sabha elections held during 2014, BJP bagged 4 seats in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Prominent Political Personalities

Elections to the Lok Sabha were held in Himachal Pradesh on 7 May 2014. Some prominent political personalities who participated in the Lok Sabha elections this year are:

• Shanta Kumar : He is the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He is also a former member of the Lok Sabha and a Union Minister. He is currently a member of the BJP and contested the 16th Lok Sabha elections from Kangra.


• Anurag Thakur : He is the sitting MP from Hamirpur constituency and the President of All India Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He was the BJP candidate from Hamirpur.


• Pratibha Singh : She is the wife of Chief Minister Vir Bhadra Singh, and a member of the 15th Lok Sabha. She contested elections from Mandi on a INC ticket.


• Dr. Rajan Sushant : He is a four-time MP from the state and is well known for his participation in worker and farmer movements, including the Jaypee Pond Dam rehabilitation. He is a former politician from the BJP. He recently joined AAP and was the party's candidate from Kangra.


• Jagat Ram : He is the CPI(M) candidate from Shimla. He is the secretary of the Shimla branch of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions and the secretary of the Lal Jhanda Union.

Famous Politicians

Some important politicians of Himachal Pradesh are:

• Yashwant Singh Parmar : A prominent politician of the INC, he was the first Chief Minister of the independent state. It was during his tenure that Himachal Pradesh was granted full statehood. He also served as the Lieutenant Governor when Himachal Pradesh was made a Union Territory in 1956.


• Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur : She was an important leader of the INC and a noted Gandhian. She was elected to the first Lok Sabha from Mandi and was the first female cabinet minister of India.


• Satyawati Dang : She was a prominent member of the INC and was the President of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee from 1964 to 1969. She also represented the state in the Rajya Sabha from 1968 to 1974.


• Thakur Ram Lal : He is a former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh and an important leader of the INC from the state. He was the leader of the opposition during the tenure of the Janata Dal government from 1977 to 1980. He is also a former governor of Andhra Pradesh.


• Prem Kumar Dhumal : He is an important leader of the BJP and has served twice as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He is also a former leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly.


• Vir Bhadra Singh : He is the present Chief Minister of the state. He has held the position thrice, from 1983 to 1990, from 1993 to 1998 and from 2003 to 2007. He is also a former member of the Lok Sabha.

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Election Highlights

Quick Facts	No. of PCs : 4 No. of Polling Days : 1 Polling Dates : May 2019 (Phase 7) Poll Expenditure Limit per Candidate : Rs. 70 lakhs

Himachal Pradesh Parliamentary Constituency Winners 2009

PC No.	PC Name	Category	Winning Candidate	Gender	Party	Total Votes
1	Kangra	GEN	Dr. Rajan Sushant	M	BJP	322254
2	Mandi	GEN	Virbhadra Singh	M	INC	340973
3	Hamirpur	GEN	Anurag Singh Thakur	M	BJP	373598
4	Shimla	(SC)	Virender Kashyap	M	BJP	310946

Parliamentary Constituencies in Himachal Pradesh

PC No.	PC Name	PC No.	PC Name
1	Kangra	3	Hamirpur
2	Mandi	4	Shimla

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