Shimla: In a major shocker, eight out of 11 cabinet ministers of Jai Ram Thakur have suffered defeat in the 2022 elections.
These include Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Technical Education Minister Ram Lal Markanda, Education Minister Govind Thakur, Forest Minister Rakesh Pathania, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Sarveen Chaudhary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Virender Kanwar, Health and Family Welfare Minister Rajiv Saizal and Consumer Affairs Minister Rajinder Garg.
All these ministers were not able to retain their seats and lost to Congress candidates.
Suresh Bhardwaj who was fielded from Kasumpti instead of Shimla (Urban) was soundly defeated by Congress candidate Anirudh Singh with a margin of 8,655 votes.
In Manali, Govind Singh Thakur was also defeated by Congress candidate Bhuvneshwar Gaur by a margin of 2,957 votes.
In Lahaul and Spiti, Ram Lal Markanda also lost to Congress candidate Ravi Thakur by 1,616 votes, In Shahpur, Sarveen Chaudhary lost to Congress candidate Kewal Singh Pathania by a huge margin of 12,243 votes and in Kasauli, Rajiv Saizal lost to Congress candidate Vinod Sultanpuri by 6,768 votes.
In Fatehpur, Rakesh Pathania lost to Congress candidate Bhawani Singh by 7,354 votes while in Ghumarwin, Rajinder Garg lost to Congress candidate Rajesh Dharmani by 5,176 votes.
In Kuthlehar, Virender Kanwar also lost to Congress candidate Davinder Kumar by 7,579 votes.
