Shimla: With Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, winning the bypolls from Dehra Assembly seat, she will be a member of the House along with her husband. This is for the first time in Himachal Pradesh that any couple has made it to the same House.
However, it is not a new thing in the country as there are ample such examples in the Parliament and state Assemblies.
Husband-wife in Lok Sabha
1. Akhilesh Yadav and Dimple Yadav (18th Lok Sabha)
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple were elected from Kannauj and Mainpuri seat respectively. Both are currently members of the 18th Lok Sabha. Earlier, both were elected as Lok Sabha MPs but Akhilesh resigned from the post after winning the Assembly elections in 2022 and after the death of Mulayam Singh, Dimple became MP from Mainpuri in the bypolls.
2. Pappu Yadav and Ranjit Ranjan (14th and 16th Lok Sabha)
Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav and Ranjit Ranjan have also been members of the Lok Sabha together. This pair is special because they have been in the same House twice but won from different parties. In 2004, Pappu Yadav won the bye-election from Madhepura seat of Bihar on RJD ticket. His wife Ranjit Ranjan reached the Lok Sabha by winning the election from Saharsa on Lok Jan Shakti Party ticket. In 2014 the couple had reached the Lok Sabha and this time too they became MPs from different parties. Pappu Yadav was elected MP from Madhepura on RJD ticket and Ranjit Ranjan reached the Lok Sabha from Supaul on Congress ticket.
3. Satyendra Narayan Sinha and Kishori Sinha (7th and 8th Lok Sabha)
Satyendra Narayan Sinha, who belongs to the royal family of Aurangabad, Bihar, contested the first election in 1952. He won the Lok Sabha elections six times. Between 1980 and 1989, his wife Kishori Sinha also won the Lok Sabha elections from Vaishali seat and both were members of the same House.
4. Madhu Dandavate and Pramila Dandavate (7th Lok Sabha)
Professor Madhu Dandavate has been the Railway Minister and Finance Minister of India. He was elected as Lok Sabha MP five times from 1971 to 1991. In the 1980 Lok Sabha elections, he was elected as MP from Rajapur Lok Sabha seat on Janata Party ticket from Maharashtra. His wife Pramila Dandavate reached Lok Sabha by winning the election from Bombay North Central seat on Janata Party ticket.
5. Chaudhary Charan Singh and Gayatri Devi (7th Lok Sabha)
Former Prime Minister of India Chaudhary Charan Singh won the Lok Sabha elections thrice. In the year 1980, he won the election from Baghpat Lok Sabha seat of Uttar Pradesh while his wife Gayatri Devi entered the Lok Sabha by winning the election from Kairana seat. Both were members of the 7th Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1984.
6. AK Gopalan and Sushila Gopalan (4th Lok Sabha)
Freedom fighter AK Gopalan Nambiar was popularly known as AKG and was the first leader of opposition in Parliament. He was elected as MP from Kasargod in Kerala from 1952 to 1977. His wife Sushila Gopalan was also elected as MP from Ambalapura seat in Kerala in the 1967 Lok Sabha elections. During which, they were members of the same House and were MPs on CPI(M) ticket.
Husband-wife in the Assembly:
1. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Padmavati Reddy ( Telangana 2023-28)
In the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections, Congress veteran N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and his wife Padmavati Reddy won the elections and entered the Assembly together. While Uttam Kumar Reddy won from Huzurnagar assembly seat, his wife Padmavati Reddy won from Kodad assembly seat.
2. Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Kalpana Soren (Jharkhand 2019-24)
Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Kalpana Soren are both members of the same Legislative Assembly. Kalpana Soren recently won the Assembly bypolls from Gandey seat while her husband Hemant Soren has been a member of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly since 2019.
3. Vishwajit Rane and Deviya Rane (Goa 2022-27)
Vishwjit Rane won the election from Valpoi assembly seat as a BJP candidate in the 2022 Goa Assembly elections. At the same time, his wife Deviya Rane reached the Assembly by winning the election from Porem constituency on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket.
4. Michael Lobe and Delilah
Congress's Michael Lobo won from Calangute in the 2022 assembly elections. His wife Delilah won on Congress ticket from Siolim seat.
5. Atanasio Monserrate and Jennifer
In the Goa assembly elections, BJP's Atanasio Monserrate won from Panaji. At the same time, his wife Jennifer won from Taleigao on BJP ticket. Jennifer Monserrate was the only woman minister in the Goa cabinet during the first term of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
6. Kuldeep Bishnoi and Renuka Bishnoi (Haryana 2014-19)
HJC chief Kuldeep Bishnoi and his wife Renuka Bishnoi won the Haryana assembly elections in 2014. Kuldeep Bishnoi won from Adampur in Hisar district and his wife Renuka Bishnoi from Hans.
7. Kaushal Yadav and Purnima Yadav (Bihar 2005)
Kaushal Yadav and his wife Purnima Yadav won in the 2005 Bihar assembly elections. Both were in the electoral fray as independent candidates at that time.
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Himachal CM's Wife and Congress Candidate Kamlesh Thakur Sweeps Dehra By-Election In Political Debut
