"Himachal Pradesh govt eased half of our work by...": Hoshiyar Singh, BJP candidate from Dehra assembly

Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 10 (ANI): Soon after casting his vote in the Dehra assembly constituency in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, Hoshiyar Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Dehra, criticized the state government, stating that it "eased half of our work by trying to dominate and scare people."
The by-poll in the Dehra assembly segment began at 7 a.m. today and will conclude at 6 p.m.
"This election has been the most exciting and difficult in the history of Himachal Pradesh. On one hand, there was an entire government machinery and the Chief Minister himself, and on the other hand, I was standing alone. The fight is tough," Singh said while speaking to ANI on Wednesday.
The BJP leader accused the Himachal Pradesh government, led by CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, of "using the administration to exert influence over people."
"They used the administration to exert influence, whereas we influenced the people... The government eased half of our work by trying to dominate and scare the people... The CM will not last long now," he added.
Polling for the assembly by-polls has started for 13 assembly constituencies across seven states: Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.
The Hamirpur, Nalagarh, and Dehra assembly segments fell vacant after the Speaker accepted the resignation of three independent MLAs who resigned from the House and joined the BJP.
In the Dehra segment of Kangra district, Kamlesh (53) of the Indian National Congress (INC), who is also the wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, Hoshiyar Singh (57) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and independent candidates Sulekha Devi (59), Arun Ankesh Syal (34), and Advocate Sanjay Sharma (56) are in the fray.
According to an official, Ashish Sharma (37) of the BJP, Dr. Pushpinder Verma (48) of the INC, and independent candidates Pradeep Kumar (58) and Nand Lal Sharma (64) are in the fray from the Hamirpur assembly constituency.
For the Nalagarh segment, Hardeep Singh Bawa (44) of the INC, KL Thakur (64) of the BJP, Kishori Lal Sharma (46) of the Swabhiman Party, and independent candidates Gurnam Singh (48), Harpreet Singh (36), and Vijay Singh (36) are in the fray.
Meanwhile, assembly by-polls are also being held in West Bengal's Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; Rupauli in Bihar; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh. (ANI)