Dehra:

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife, Kamlesh Thakur, won the key bypoll for the Dehra assembly seat. Making her electoral debut, Ms Thakur won by a margin of 9,399 votes over her nearest rival, BJP’s Hoshiyar Singh.

The bypoll, held on Saturday, witnessed a high turnout with 65.42% of the electorate exercising their franchise. Ms Thakur garnered 32,737 votes, while Mr Singh managed 23,338 votes.

The polling was conducted to fill vacancies created by the resignation of incumbent members, all Independents, who are now in the fray as BJP nominees.

The Dehra Assembly constituency, established after the 2012 delimitation exercise, had been a bastion of the BJP. Former minister Ravi Inder Singh and later Hoshiyar Singh, as an Independent, had secured victories in previous elections. However, the latest results signify a shifting political landscape in the Kangra district.

Chief Minister Sukhu’s vigorous campaign in Dehra played a key role in securing Ms Thakur’s debut victory.

Chief Minister Sukhu expressed his joy over the outcome, highlighting the Congress’ resurgence following a setback in the state during the Lok Sabha polls. “Just a month ago, BJP candidates claimed three Lok Sabha seats with a significant margin. Now, our confidence is bolstered with assured victories in two seats and a tough contest in Hamirpur,” he remarked, attributing the win to the government’s dedicated public service over the past 16 months.

He also said that the conspiracy to topple the government had failed.

Earlier this year, the Congress government in Himachal faced a crisis after it lost the lone Rajya Sabha seat despite having the numbers due to cross-voting by some of its MLAs. The six MLAs who voted for the BJP were disqualified by the Speaker.

The cross-voting paved the way for the victory of BJP’s Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha election after a tie, and then a draw of lots sealed the fate of Congress pick and senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi.

New Delhi:
INDIA bloc candidate and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur won the Dehra assembly bypoll in Himachal Pradesh today, making a successful debut in electoral politics.

5 Facts About Kamlesh Thakur:

After the six Congress MLAs switched sides to the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said that all the defecting MLAs will be behind bars soon.

While addressing an election rally in Shimla Sukhu said that the government will run for three and a half more years, and will repeat in 2027. He said that after June 1 the people of the state will teach a lesson to the “corrupt people”.

The left-wing CPI(M) leaders also shared a stage with Congress in Shimla during the election rally in Shimla which was held in favour of the Congress candidate after nomination.

The Congress Party candidate from the Shimla parliamentary seat Vinod Sultanpuri filed nomination papers in the presence of CM Sukhu today.

After this, while addressing the public meeting at Chaura maidan, the Chief Minister launched a fierce attack on the rebel legislators who had rebelled against the Congress and joined the BJP.

Addressing the public meeting, Mr Sukhu said that six tainted leaders of the Congress Party were sold out by money power and rebelled against the party. Sukhu said that after presenting the budget 2024-25, all the tainted leaders praised the government, but when they were allured by the BJP with money, they were sold in the political market and ran away to Panchkula to get the second instalment.

“Congress has the power of the people. This fight is not to save the government or the post of Chief Minister, but to teach a lesson to those corrupt people and also to save the constitution and democracy. BJP leaders had conspired to topple the government through money and this election will decide the future politics,” he added.

Chief Minister Sukhu said that the people of Himachal Pradesh will give a befitting reply to the politics of horse trading by defeating the BJP in these elections and setting an example for the entire country.

He said that the BJP has stolen one Rajya Sabha seat, but the people of the state will give all four Lok Sabha seats to Congress. “All these corrupt people will be put behind bars. Sukhu Sarkar will run for three and a half more years. After this, part two of the government will be repeated in the year 2027,” he added.

Elections to four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh along with assembly by-polls, following the disqualification of six rebel Congress MLAs, will be held on June 1 in the last phase of polling.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

 Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu interacting with the milk producers of the State in Shimla on Sunday.  

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday said the State government was all set to introduce innovative schemes and increase farmers’ incomes in the upcoming annual Budget since agriculture and milk production played a pivotal role in the rural economy.

He was speaking in Shimla during a first of its kind interaction with the State’s milk producers.

Mr. Sukhu said the government was encouraging agriculture as an industry to make farmers self-reliant. “There is a direct relationship between agriculture and milk production, and it becomes necessary to go for natural and organic farming in a big way, thereby linking traditional farming techniques with modern technologies. We intend to bring a revolutionary change in the agriculture sector with a special focus on promoting animal husbandry,” he said.

He said the recent increase of six rupees per litre in the purchase price of milk was indicative of his government’s future course of action in strengthening the dairy sector and ensuring a fixed income for farmers. “Fundamental changes are being made in the policies and rules to ensure that money goes directly to the farmers,” he added.

Pointing out that the government would also consider providing tax concessions to milk producers, he said the quality of milk in the Himalayan region was superior, and efforts were underway to market it, which would increase farmers’ income and generate employment.

To strengthen the State’s milk-based economy, the ‘Him Ganga Yojana’ had been launched with a budgetary provision of ₹500 crore, Mr. Sukhu said.

Shimla:

In a crackdown against timber and fuel wood smuggling in the state, the Himachal Pradesh government Tuesday banned the felling of mango and five other tree species with immediate effect.

A ban has been imposed on the felling of Mango, Triyambal (Ficus species), Toon (Toona ciliata), Padam or Pajja (Prunus cerasus), Ritha (Sapindus mukorossi) and Baan (Quercus leucotrichophora), a statement issued here said.

Announcing the ban, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said there would be a total ban on the export of timber and fuel wood of these six species out of the state.

The move is aimed at curbing illegal trade and preserving the region’s valuable resources, he said.

Chief Minister Sukhu added that under the new regulations, all these six species have been brought under the ten-year felling programme, which mandates that these trees need to survive for at least ten years before they are axed.

Any tree belonging to one of these species can be axed only after permission from the forest department, Mr Sukhu said.

The felling of a maximum of five trees in a year will be allowed for domestic purposes, the statement said.

A revised list of permissible tree species has been notified, allowing only thirteen species to be felled with prior intimation to the Range officer, while felling of other species will also require forest clearances, the statement said.

This step will not only safeguard indigenous species but also play a pivotal role in wildlife preservation, the chief minister said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

An apple orchard at Fagu village in Shimla.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The apple season has started in Himachal Pradesh. This year is especially significant as a new practice has come into force: the State’s key horticulture crop is being sold by weight instead of the established practice of being sold per box. While this decision has been widely hailed by apple growers, it has been reluctantly accepted by commission agents and middlemen.

For a long time, the apple growers of Himachal Pradesh had been demanding that apples be procured in markets (mandis) on the basis of kilogrammes and not per box. This is because they would invariably sell their produce according to the defined weight of the box and not the real weight of the produce, which is usually above the defined weight. This resulted in losses for apple growers. The key problem was that there were no standard cartons in which the apples were packed.

The woes of apple growers began when wooden apple boxes were replaced in the late 1990s with cardboard-based telescopic boxes. The wooden boxes were not flexible, which meant that the quantity of apples in every box would remain the same (around 20 kg). However, with the advent of flexible telescopic cartons, boxes with a capacity of 20-24 kg each would end up in mandis with the produce weighing 30-35 kg at times. The apple growers complained that commission agents would arm-twist them into “over-weighing” the box. The commission agents, they said, would threaten not to buy the produce saying the apples were “loose or low grade” (small/poor quality) unless the grower compensated them by stuffing the box with extra apples. This would help the agents get more produce and make an additional profit after selling it to traders. The growers were left with no choice given the perishable nature of apples and the absence of an adequate number of controlled atmosphere chambers to store apples.

The commission agents assert that they are not against the government’s decision and that in the “interest of growers,” they are ready to procure apples by weight. But the problem, they say, is that in markets outside the State, apples are being procured per box. As a result, they assert that they are suffering huge losses. The State Arhtiya (commission agents) Association has made it clear that after the ongoing marketing season is over, they will clearly spell out their concerns.

After coming to power last December, the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government held several rounds of talks with all the stakeholders. On April 6, 2023, the government issued a notification under the Himachal Pradesh Agricultural and Horticultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2005, which stated that apples brought in boxes to all the fruit markets of the State would be sold on the basis of weight, which would also include the weight of the packing material. The maximum limit of the weight of the box has been set at 24 kg. Influential commission agents resisted this and went on a symbolic strike for a day. This led to a tussle between apple growers and commission agents. The State government eventually prevailed by putting its foot down and saying that apples would be sold by weight instead of by box in the ongoing season.

Apple is the most important fruit crop of Himachal Pradesh. It constitutes about 49% of the total area under fruit crops and about 85% of the total fruit production. The apple economy of the State is an estimated ₹5,500 crore-6,000 crore. This is why the government’s decision is being seen as an attempt to woo voters in the apple belt, which is a politically significant area of the State, ahead of the 2024 general elections. The Lok Sabha polls will be a key test for the first-time Chief Minister, who recently led rescue operations from the front when floods wreaked havoc in the State. There are four parliamentary seats in the State: Mandi, Shimla, Kangra, and Hamirpur. Of the four, Shimla and Mandi seats have a substantial number of apple growers who will benefit from the government’s decision. Politically, the State is divided into upper and lower Himachal. Most of the apple growers belong to the upper Himachal region. They are the beneficiaries of Mr. Sukhu’s decision. The Chief Minister’s home town, Nadaun, is a part of lower Himachal. Therefore, Mr. Sukhu has signified that he is above regional politics and is taking decisions that are in the best interests of apple growers.