Shimla, Aug. 22 -- The Himachal Pradesh High Court has dismissed an election petition filed by former Congress minister Ram Lal Thakur challenging the election of BJP MLA and party chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma from the Sri Naina Devi Ji Assembly constituency in the 2022 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.

Justice Sandeep Sharma dismissed the election petition on August 18, with the order being made available on Saturday, holding that Thakur had failed to comply with the court's earlier direction to file an affidavit strictly in accordance with the statutory requirements.

Thakur had challenged Sharma's election, alleging irregularities in the counting and rejection of postal ballots as well as other violations during the election p...