Shimla: The BJP has won the Shimla zila parishad elections after 26 years by securing both the chairman and vice-chairman posts with the support of independent members. BJP-backed Bhupender Sisodia was elected chairman and Bharat Singh Kalanta vice-chairman on Thursday.Sisodia received 13 votes against Congress-backed Surendra Retka, who secured 10 votes. Two votes were declared invalid. In the vice-chairman election, Kalanta bagged 14 votes, while Congress’s Meenakshi secured 10 votes, with one vote declared invalid. Three ministers in the Congress govt in Himachal Pradesh — Vikramaditya Singh, Rohit Thakur and Anirudh Singh — are from Shimla district.The elections were held at Bachat Bhawan, Shimla, under the supervision of Shimla deputy commissioner Anupam Kashyap, who also administered the oath to both elected candidates. The process followed an order by the Himachal Pradesh high court after a delay of over three months in conducting elections for the top two posts following the zila parishad polls had led to legal proceedings.The Shimla zila parishad has 25 elected members, including 11 from the BJP, 10 from the Congress and four independents. A total of 13 votes were required for a majority, making the independent members crucial to the outcome. With their support, the BJP crossed the majority mark and secured both key positions.Former chief minister and leader of the opposition Jai Ram Thakur termed it a victory for democracy and a defeat for those who sought to seize the public mandate through dictatorship and misuse of power. “The state govt used every possible tactic to influence the mandate, but all its efforts proved unsuccessful. The people’s representatives have given a strong response to attempts to undermine democracy through the use of political power,” he added.
