Himachal Pradesh Election Results 2017 | BJP Wins In Biggest Mandate Since 1993

Anti-incumbency struck again in Himachal Pradesh as the Bharatiya Janata Party wrested power from the Congress with leads in a majority of seats.

With that, Himachal became the nineteenth state in the country with a BJP or an NDA-led government. BJP won 44 seats - well past the halfway mark of 35 - while the incumbent Congress got 21.

The only minor setback was that the BJP's chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal lost from the Sujanpur constituency. He was defeated by Congress' Rajinder Rana. "In politics, sometimes one wins, sometimes one loses. I was not expecting to lose," Dhumal told wire agency ANI. His personal loss, he added, is not as important as the fact that BJP won the state. This means the BJP may have to hunt for a new face as their CM candidate.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh beat Rattan Singh Pal of the BJP from the Arki constituency by a margin of more than 6,000 votes. He took "full responsibility" of Congress' defeat while conceding the election to BJP.

Singh's son Vikramaditya, who was contesting his first election from his father's old seat rural Shimla, also secured a clear victory over his nearest BJP rival Pramod Sharma.

Acknowledging the party's victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the people of Himachal Pradesh chose to vote for the "path of development". Taking a dig at the Congress, Modi said a government that doesn't bat for development and is embroiled in corrupt practices, is bound to be voted out after five years.

• A huge reversal in the voting pattern was seen in the Mandi district where both Congress and BJP had won 5 seats each back in 2012. This time around, the BJP won 9 seats while the Congress returned empty-handed.
• The Shimla district too saw BJP making inroads with three seats out of eight, improving their tally from one in the previous poll. Congress' tally in Shimla fell to four seats from six in 2012.
• The Chamba district, which was tied in 2012, also saw power swing to the BJP with six out of eight seats.
• Three out of the four seats in Kullu also went to BJP, whereas it had only one in the previous assembly election.

Today's results were the biggest mandate for a single political party in Himachal Pradesh since 1993.

PM Modi has thanked voters in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for choosing the "path of development", addressing a media conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal said that BJP’s victory in the state is more important than him losing from the Sujanpur constitency.

As per the last update, Dhumal was trailing by 2,822 votes to Congress’ Rajinder Rana.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh has said that he “takes full responsibility” of Congress’ defeat in the northern hill state.

Singh has been declared winner from the Arki constituency.

Party president Amit Shah has said that the people of Himachal Pradesh are keen to join PM Modi’s journey to development.

He added that the poll results are a "victory of development over dynasty and polarisation”, at a media conference.

India’s equity markets slumped with the rupee and government bonds slid as early trends from the Gujarat elections indicated a close race.

Sujanpur: Located in his backyard of Hamirpur, Prem Kumar Dhumal will test waters from Sujanpur against his one-time protege - Congress’ Rajinder Rana. Rana, the incumbent MLA, contested the 2012 polls as an independent, defeating the Congress candidate by more than 14,000 votes.

Arki: 83-year old Virbhadra Singh, popularly known as Raja Sahab amongst the locals, will be seeking a record seventh-term as chief minister from Arki.

Shimla (Rural): Relaxing the ‘one family, one ticket’ policy, the Congress has fielded Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh from Shimla (Rural) – a seat currently held by his father. He will be up against BJP candidate Pramod Sharma.

Most exit polls have projected a landslide win for the BJP and a return for 73-year old Prem Kumar Dhumal as chief minister for the third time.

Also Read: Questions for The Congress as Polls Predict BJP Win in Himachal

Amidst all the hullabaloo surrounding Gujarat, the fact that nearly 40 lakh voters have sealed the fate of 337 candidates for 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh has almost gone unnoticed.

For a state that has not elected an incumbent government since 1990, exit polls predicting a landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party should come as no surprise.

The incumbent Congress party’s star power was largely missing in the Himachal Pradesh campaign with the state’s 83-year-old Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh leading the charge. Singh himself is facing a slew of corruption and money laundering allegations.

Also Read: Himachal Pradesh Records Its Highest Voter Turnout At 74%