On the final day, 376 contestants, out of a total of 630, registered their candidacy for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.
In the Kangra district, as many as 72 candidates submitted their candidacy papers. With this, 129 candidates have officially entered the race for Kangra's 15 seats.
On October 27, the nomination papers were reviewed, and the withdrawal deadline is October 29. As many of those who have filed papers are the cover candidates for the parties' official candidates, the number of candidates will probably decline.
On the final day for submitting nominations for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, the BJP changed their candidate for Kullu Sadar after his son filed papers as an independent opponent for the party's nominee in the State's Banjar seat. According to a party spokesman, retired teacher and BJP candidate Narottam Thakur filed his paperwork to replace Maheshwar Singh.
On Wednesday, the BJP published its initial list of 62 candidates. In the last assembly elections, the BJP took home 44 seats while the Congress took home 21.
On Tuesday, 81 candidates in the Mandi district submitted their papers, followed by 72 in Kangra, 23, in Bilaspur, 19, in Kullu, 3, in Kinnaur, 34 in Chamba, 35 in Sirmour, 30 in Shimla, 29, in Una, 26, in Hamirpur, 23, in Solan, and 1 in Lahaul-Spiti.
Hours before the deadline for submitting nomination papers, the Congress, which is attempting to restore power in the state, declared its choice for the Hamirpur assembly segment. The son of former industries minister Ranjeet Singh Verma, Dr Pushpendra Verma, is the party's nominee.
