Himachal Pradesh polls: Six-time Congress MLA Asha Kumari loses in Dalhousie
Shimla, Dec 8: BJP candidate D S Thakur defeated six-time Congress MLA Asha Kumari in Himachal Pradesh's Dalhousie assembly seat by a margin of 9,918 votes, according to the Election Commission.
Asha Kumari was among the chief ministerial probables in Himachal Pradesh with trends showing the Congress surging ahead of the BJP on 39 of the total 68 seats in the hill state.
Dalhousie in Chamba district was in focus after veteran Congress leader and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh's aide Harsh Mahajan joined the BJP and queered the pitch for arch-rival Kumari.
His support to Thakur was a boost for the BJP which was looking to retain power in the hill state, breaking the tradition of government being changed every five years in the state.
Mahajan is the son of former Congress stalwart Des Raj Mahajan who was assembly speaker twice and had won from Dalhousie constituency in 1967, 1972 and 1982.
Kumari, who is from the erstwhile royal family of Chamba, was elected for the first time in 1985 and got reelected in 1993, 1998, 2003, 2012 and 2017. The former Congress in-charge of Punjab and an ex-minister, Kumari is the tallest leader in the district.
In 2012, Kumari defeated her BJP rival Renu Chadda with a margin of 7,365 but in 2017, her victory margin against Thakur was reduced to 556.
In the Dalhousie seat, which has an 89.78 per cent rural population, poor condition of roads, staff shortage lack of infrastructure in health facilities and educational institutions were the major poll issues.
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CM Siddaramaiah tours across Bengaluru, inspects various works
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah toured various areas of Bengaluru on Thursday, reviewing road infrastructure and ongoing development projects. He directed BBMP officials to expedite the process of covering potholes across the city.
During a press briefing after his tour, the Chief MInister provided details on the city's road network, which spans approximately 12,878 km. Out of this, 1,344.84 km fall under the arterial and sub-arterial road categories, while the remaining 11,533.16 km belong to zonal roads under BBMP. The CM pointed out that road surfaces in Bengaluru have been damaged due to the installation of BESCOM cables, water supply and drainage pipes, GAIL gas pipes, KPTCL cables, and optical fiber cables.
To address this issue, BBMP has set up a batch mix unit to quickly repair potholes, particularly on arterial and sub-arterial roads. Additionally, Rs 15 lakh has been allocated to each ward for pothole repairs on zonal roads. Siddaramaiah emphasized that the BBMP has also developed a cool asphalt mix unit to tackle potholes even during the rainy season.
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The CM ordered that road damages caused by digging from agencies like BESCOM, KPTCL, and GAIL gas be promptly fixed. He assured that coordination between the Bangalore Water Supply and Internal Drainage Board and other departments has been achieved, regularizing the process of road repairs.
Siddaramaiah highlighted remedial measures, including the introduction of a mobile app called "Raste Gundi Gamana" (Road Potholes Focus) to monitor and ensure timely pothole repairs. Additionally, Rs 1700 crore has been approved for white-topping projects for the 2023-24 period to further curb potholes.
The CM revealed that of the 1,611 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads in the city, 459 km have been damaged. Asphalting of these roads, at a cost of Rs 659.71 crore, will begin in November and is expected to be completed by March.
During his tour, Siddaramaiah inspected several key locations, including the BDA flyover near Hebbal, asphalting work near Kariannanpalya, and metro work at KR Pura railway station. He consulted with officials at each site to ensure smooth progress.
Ministers KJ George, Byrathi Suresh, MLAs BA Basavaraja, Rizwan Arshad, AC Srinivas, and BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath, among others, were present during the inspection.
