Shimla Zila Parishad polls: BJP warns of protest, legal action

Yog Raj Sharma
August 8, 2026, 15:39
2 mins

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Shimla, August 8

Himachal Pradesh BJP Leader of Opposition(LoP) Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday accused the state government of delaying the election of the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Shimla Zila Parishad, warning that the party will approach the court if the process is not initiated within two days. Sharing details, Thakur said that the BJP had secured 13 of the 25 seats in the Shimla Zila Parishad, giving it a majority, but the election to the top posts had still not been held more than two months after the results.

“If the Deputy Commissioner does not announce the election date within two days, we will approach the court,” Thakur told reporters in Shimla. He also warned that the BJP would hold a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office if the delay continued.

The BJP has accused the Congress-led government of undermining democratic institutions by delaying local-body elections and the formation of elected councils.

Thakur claimed the BJP had won three of Himachal Pradesh’s four municipal corporations and had secured the chairperson and vice-chairperson posts in nine of the 10 Zila Parishads where elections for the posts had been held.

He alleged that the Congress had struggled to field candidates in several places and was now delaying the formation of Zila Parishad leadership because of the election results.

The BJP also cited the Indora Panchayat Samiti case, where elections were held following directions from the Himachal Pradesh High Court. According to the party, 25 of the 26 members there are backed by the BJP, but the election to the committee’s leadership had been delayed.

Thakur alleged that the government had used allegations of horse-trading as a reason to postpone the Indora election. The BJP said the court subsequently directed that the election be held within a week.The BJP has also accused the Shimla district administration of failing to call a second meeting of the Zila Parishad. Party leaders said they had been trying to contact the Deputy Commissioner for the past three days but had not received a response.

The allegations have not been independently verified. The Congress-led government and the Shimla administration are yet to respond to the BJP’s latest claims.

Thakur said the BJP would first wait for two days for the election meeting to be called. If that did not happen, he said, the party would seek legal intervention and consider a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office.