BJP poised to take power in Himachal Pradesh

The BJP looks set to wrest power from the Congress in Himachal Pradesh as it was leading in over 40 seats while the ruling party bagged one seat and was leading in 21 others, according to Election Commission trends.

SHIMLA: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday headed for a victory in Himachal Pradesh. Counting of votes was underway for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections where traditional rivals BJP and Congress have contested all 68 seats.

Latest updates

- Figures at 6:19 pm: BJP bags 30 seats, ahead in 14. Congress wins 14, ahead in 4.

- BJP's chief ministerial face for the Himachal Pradesh polls, Prem Kumar Dhumal, defeated.

- BJP leader Anurag Thakur says the people of the state wanted change because of a bad law-and-order situation and "misgovernance".

- Congress leader and Himachal Pradesh's outgoing chief minister Virbhadra Singh wins the Arki Assembly seat in Solan, defeating Rattan Singh Pal of the BJP.

- According to Election Commission BJP leading in 42 seats, Congress ahead in 21.

- Congress wins Kasumpti seat in Himachal Pradesh with its candidate Anirudh Singh defeating BJP's Vijay Jyoti by a margin of 9,397 votes.

- Congress wins its first seat, says Election Commission.

- The BJP wins its first seat by defeating Congress cabinet minister Prakash Chaudhary. BJP's Inder Singh Gandhi defeated Chaudhary from Balh in Mandi district with a big margin.

- Trends at 11:15 am: BJP ahead in 44 seats, Congress 20 and Others were leading in 4.

- As trends indicate BJP's victory in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, party workers celebrate at party headquarters in Delhi.

- BJP moves ahead in 42 seats, Congress in 23 and Others 3.

- Home Minister Rajnath Singh expresses confidence in BJP forming governments in both Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat with a clear majority.

- EC trends for 61 seats shows BJP ahead in 36 seats, Congress in 21

 - Trends available for 60/68 seats in Himachal Pradesh. BJP leading in 35 seats, Congress ahead on 22, CPI (M) 1 and Independent 2.

- Trends at 10:08 am: BJP leading in 35 seats, Congress ahead on 21, CPI (M) 1 and Independent 2.

- EC official trends for Himachal Pradesh Elections 2017: BJP leading in 32, Congress ahead in 21, CPI (M) 1 and Independent 2.

- Virbhadra Singh leading by 1162 votes in Arki.

- Trends at 9:50 am: BJP ahead in 30, Congress 21, and Others 1

- LATEST TRENDS at 9:45 am on EC website - Total 68 seats; BJP ahead in 28, Congress 19, and Others 1

- CPI(M) ahead in one seat. 

- State BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti trails from Una.

- Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya leading by 1316 votes in Shimla Rural.

- BJP's CM candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal trailing by 540 votes from Sujanpur.

- EC Official Trends for Himachal Pradesh Elections: BJP now leading in 35 seats, Congress in 16, Others 3

- BJP surges ahead in 29 seats, Congress in 21 and Others 1.

- Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Results Live Updates: Congress narrows gap, Congress in 21 seats, BJP in 26 seats, and Others 1.

- BJP supporters in Uttar Pradesh perform 'havan' in Varanasi as counting of votes continues for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.

- Congress leaders Neeraj Nayyar leading from Chamba and Mukesh Agnihotri leading from Haroli.

- Congress leader Thakur Singh Bharmouri is leading from Bharmour seat. Neeraj Nayyar is leading from Chamba and Mukesh Agnihotri is leading from Haroli.

- Trends at 8:58 am - BJP takes lead in 

- LATEST TRENDS at 8:52 am - Total: 68 seats; BJP ahead in 33, Congress 10, Others 1

- Trends at 8:45 am: 36/68 seats in Himachal; BJP ahead in 36, Congress in 10.

- BJP leading in 9 seats, Congress in 4.

- Trends available for 11/68 seats in Gujarat; BJP ahead in 7, Congress in 4.

- Trends available for 7/68 seats in Gujarat; BJP ahead in 4, Congress in 3.

- Congress ahead in two assembly seats.

- I assure you that there can be no tampering with the EVMs, says Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AK Joti.

- Early trends say that BJP ahead in three, Congress in 1

- Early trends indicate BJP is ahead in two assembly seats.

- BJP leader Subramanian Swamy expresses confidence in his party to win a majority in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.

- Counting of votes begin for Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.

WATCH: Gujarat Election 2017 and Himachal Pradesh Election Results LIVE on Zee Media

Key contestants

HPCC president Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu, state BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti, Deputy Speaker Jagat Singh Negi, sitting Rajya Sabha member Viplov Thakur (Congress), former Lok Sabha members Chander Kumar (Congress) and Dr Rajan Shushant (Independent) and former Rajya Sabha member Kripal Parmar(BJP).

Interestingly, the state has alternately elected Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party governments since 1985. In 2012, the Congress had won 36 seats, while BJP got 26, and independents six.

Exit polls

The hill state witnessed a record 75.28 percent turnout and pollsters have predicted a BJP vitory. All exit polls have predicted a clean sweep for the BJP in the Assembly elections held in Himachal Pradesh.

In Himachal Pradesh, where the Congress was in power for the last five years, the exit polls showed the BJP wresting the power with India Today-Axis giving it 47-55 in the 68-member assembly.

The ruling Congress is likely to get 13-20 seats. Jan Ki Baat gave the BJP 41 and the Congress 25. The CNX poll predicted that the BJP will get 42-50 and the Congress 18-24 seats.

The survey by CSDS in Himachal Pradesh showed the BJP may get 38 and the Congress 29. The poll by Chanakya predicted 55 for the BJP and 13 for the Congress.

Key issues

Corruption was the main focus of the BJP campaign with the party training its guns at Congress veteran Virbhadra Singh, while the Congress hit out at the BJP over the issue of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetisation.