Newly-elected MLAs administered oath of office
Over 400 people, including legislators, government officials and office bearers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were present during the ceremony.
Two newly-elected legislators—Rena Kashyap (Pachhad) and Vishal Nehriya (Dharamshala)—were sworn in to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly by speaker Rajiv Bindal here on Monday.
The duo was administered the oath of office during a simple but impressive ceremony held on the premises of Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha in presence of chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, cabinet ministers Ram Lal Markanday and Mahinder Singh Thakur, and BJP’s chief whip Narendra Bragta.
Over 400 people, including legislators, government officials and office bearers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were present during the ceremony.
Bypoll was necessitated after the two seats fell vacant following election of sitting legislators—Kishan Kapoor and Suresh Kashyap— to the Lok Sabha in May this year.
In Pachhad, Kashyap had trounced Congress bigwig and seven time-legislator Gangu Ram Musafir by over a margin of 2,678 votes while Nehriya won the Dharamshala seat by defeating his nearest rival Rakesh Kumar, another BJP rebel, by a margin of 6,758.
With the bypoll results, the strength of the BJP in the assembly has gone up to 44, comprising four women legislators.
“Both the leaders will fulfil the demands and aspirations of the people of the state and their respective constituencies,” the chief minister said while speaking with the media on the occasion.
Thakur hinted at cabinet expansion after the Global Investors’ Meet which is slated to be held in Dharamshala on November 7 and 8. He said various criteria, besides poll results, will be taken into consideration during the cabinet rejig.
The chief minister said the cabinet colleagues will accompany him to the investors’ meet.
“The young leader (Nehria) is lucky to host such an event right after being elected as an MLA. The meet will give him opportunities for development and he will try to address the issues of his constituency,” Thakur said.
For Kashyap, the chief minister said, “She will try to focus more on issues concerning women in the state besides others in her constituency.”
