In a statement issued here, Negi targeted Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur for what he termed as “factually incorrect claims” regarding the outcome of the polls. He pointed out that the Congress had returned to power in the Chamba Municipal Council after a decade and in Chuwari after 15 years, securing both President and Vice-President posts in the two civic bodies.
Negi claimed that Congress-backed candidates enjoyed a majority in 29 of the state’s 53 urban local bodies. He said the party registered victories in all six municipal bodies in Kangra district, while the BJP failed to secure a single one. He also claimed that the BJP suffered major setbacks in Mandi district, questioning the basis of its victory claims.
Rejecting the BJP’s description of the elections as a “semi-final” before the next Assembly polls, Negi said the people had already rejected the party’s attempts to destabilise the Congress government. Referring to the Assembly by-elections, he said the BJP was defeated in six of the nine seats despite allegedly using money power. He questioned why Jai Ram Thakur had not resigned following that outcome.
The minister further accused BJP leaders of diverting attention from issues such as rising prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas by projecting a false sense of electoral success. He maintained that panchayat elections were not fought on party symbols and claimed that nearly 2,400 pradhans and 2,600 deputy pradhans elected across the state were aligned with Congress ideology.
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