# HC rejects Ram Lal Thakur plea on Naina Devi poll result 2026-08-23T03:41:08+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Himachal Pradesh high court has dismissed the election petition of former Congress minister Ram Lal Thakur challenging the 2022 assembly election victory of BJP MLA Randhir Sharma from Sri Naina Devi Ji constituency. Justice Sandeep Sharma passed the order on August 18, which was made available on Saturday. Thakur had lost the seat by 171 votes and alleged irregularities in postal ballot counting, including 341 of 2,816 postal ballots being declared invalid. He also alleged corrupt practices such as distribution of liquor and money to influence voters. The court had earlier directed Thakur to file a fresh affidavit under Section 83(1) of the Representation of the People Act and Rule 94A of the Conduct of Election Rules by October 15, 2025, warning that failure would lead to dismissal. Though Thakur filed a fresh affidavit, the court found it did not conform to Form 25 and noted that allegations regarding corrupt practices were verified differently in the two affidavits. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Section 83(1) of the RP Act requires every election petition to be accompanied by an affidavit in the prescribed form verifying the facts pleaded. Non-compliance is fatal: courts consistently dismiss petitions that fail this procedural test, regardless of the merit of allegations. The 171-vote margin in Naina Devi makes it a swing seat where every vote counts. For Thakur, the dismissal ends his challenge unless he appeals to the Supreme Court, which typically does not entertain procedural defaults. The next political signal is the 2027 Himachal assembly elections, where this seat will be closely watched. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com Reports the court order and allegations factually, without editorialising. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Himachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh High Court, Ram Lal Thakur, Randhir Sharma Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/hc-rejects-ram-lal-thakur-plea-on-naina-devi-poll-result/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/hc-rejects-ram-lal-thakur-plea-on-naina-devi-poll-result/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/