YIF Election Watch

Knockout Of The Year, Choose Your Fighters!

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by Young India Foundation
Nov 4, 2022
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Himachal Pradesh is going to assembly elections on the 12th of November. Before the results are declared on the 8th of December, get yourself updated on the who's-who!

Himachal to Elect New Representatives, But We Ask: Where's the Youth?

Himachal Pradesh is going to assembly elections on the 12th of November. Before the results are declared on the 8th of December, get yourself updated on the who's-who!

With the influx of Aam Aadmi Party into more state assembly elections this year, the Himachal Pradesh elections are no longer a bi-partisan affair. As AAP is set to make their Himachal Pradesh state electoral debut with 0 incumbent candidates, will this also be a test run for the parties’ performances in Gujarat? (Yet to announced, the Gujarat elections are predicted to be held in the month of December)

Here’s a breakdown of the contenders for this knockdown -

Choose your Fighters in 3, 2, 1, GO!

 

On the incumbency:


A total of 51 incumbent representatives are going to be on the EVM to keep their positions in the Vidhan Sabha, the question remains - is this incumbency good or bad for Himachal Pradesh’s and India’s political ecosystem? 

This is Himachal Pradesh's first election in the 21st century to happen in the absence of the state’s former CM and titular king of the erstwhile princely state of Bushahr, Virbhadra Singh. Before his passing last year in July, the seasoned politician had held the state’s Chief Minister post for 6 terms and 21 years. It will be interesting to see how and who takes the stage. Surprisingly, the current Minister for Youth and Sport Affairs, Anurag Thakur’s father, Prem Kumar Dhummal will not be contesting for the 2022 round of elections. A teacher by profession before his foray into politics, he was the state’s 5th Chief Minister for two terms in 1998-2003 and 2007-2012, but was unable to win a seat in previous 2017 elections where he was also the BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate.  

Given the exit of two of Himachal’s most prominent leaders from the electoral scene, we can expect to see a wave of new, (and hopefully younger) representatives stepping up to make their mark on the state’s political waters.  Smt. Pratibha Singh, the State Congress chief and MP of Mandi Lok Sabha constituency will be spearheading the campaign for the Congress, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur is leading the campaign for the BJP in a bid to seek re-election. 
 

Interestingly, Himachal Pradesh has had a history of not re-electing incumbent parties since the 1990 elections. Will the trend change? We'll know on the 8th December.

 

On the Candidates:

For the 2022 elections, the average age of a person contesting is 52. Out of this, AAP has both the youngest candidate and the lowest average across all their candidates. 

Contesting with AAP from the constituency of Nachan, Jabna Kumari Chauhan has previously won acclaim for being the youngest elected Panchyat Pradhan in the country at the age of 22 years in Panchyati Raj elections held in the state in 2016. Besides this, the party is also pitting Sahil Chauhan (the youngest candidate of this year) at the age of 26 against incumbent Bikram Thakur from the BJP in the constituency of Jaswan-Pragpur. 

The oldest candidate hails from the Indian National Congress at the age of 82. Dhani Ram Shandil is currently incumbent for the constituency of Solan and has previously been elected to the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha from the constituency of Shimla as a Himachal Vikas Congress and INC candidate. Will his vast political career and experience pay off among the other diverse, first-time candidates?

 
 
 

Choose Your Fighters!

Vote for your representatives. Exercise your democratic rights. We'll help you. 

Click here for a full list of candidates and details; curated and resourced by Rikit Shahi, Nandita Yadav, Aadya Jolly and Shefali for YIF's Centre for Youth Policy. 

Planning to vote but need to check your name in the electoral roll?
All you need is your EPIC number, find your name and Assembly Constituency here. 

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