CHANDIGARH : In a first in the Himachal Pradesh assembly, the husband and wife will sit in the House as MLAs from the same party.Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur today won the Dehra assembly by-poll. The Congress managed to win two out of the three assembly by-polls.These victories have consolidated the position of CM Sukhu, a little over a month after party’s dismal performance in Lok Sabha elections. The Congress tally, however, is back to 40 from 38 in the 68-member assembly. The BJP’s total seats also rise from 27 to 28.Congress candidate Kamlesh Thakur got 32,737 votes against BJP candidate Hoshiar Singh who received 23,338 votes. He was seeking re-election on the BJP ticket after having resigned from the assembly. Till the fourth round, Hoshiar Singh led the vote tally by a slender margin of about 800 votes. But after the fifth round CM’s wife Kamlesh kept consolidating her lead and won by 9,399 votes.Kamlesh’s victory has raised hopes among the locals as Dehra is one of the most backward areas of Kangra district. CM Sukhu has promised many development projects for the area, including helping out the Pong Dam oustees who have been living landless in the region since their land was acquired for the construction of the dam in 1960s.
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