Shimla: 2:25 pm: The Congress has won the Himachal Pradesh elections and will now form the government in the state. The Congress has won 36 seats.
2:06 pm: The Congress moved closer to winning the Himachal Pradesh elections, winning 34 seats and was leading in 2 seats. The BJP won 22 seats and was leading in 4 while the others won 5 seats and were leading in 1.
1:59 pm: Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and state Congress president Virbhadra Singh won from Shimla(Rural) constituency defeating his BJP rival Ishwar Rohal by 19,033 votes. Singh is a strong contender for the post of Chief
Minister.
1:48 pm: The Congress has won 32 seats and inching closer to victory and was leading in 4 seats. The BJP won 22 seats and was leading in 4 seats.
Jagjiwan Paul and Neeraj Bharti of Congress won from Sullah and Jawali and BJP's Ravinder Singh won from Dehra. The Congress has won 31 seats and was leading in 5, BJP won 21 seats and was leading in 5, while the others won 5 seats and were leading in 1. Meanwhile, BJP's Suresh Bhardwaj won from Shimla.
Congress's Ravi Thakur has won from Lahaul and Spiti (ST), Sarveen of the BJP won from Shahpur and Independent Pawan Kajal and Rajinder Singh won from Kangra and Sujanpur. The Congress has won 27 seats and was leading in 9, BJP won 19 seats and was leading in 7, while the others won 5 seats and were leading in 1.
The Congress has won 25 seats and was leading in 11, while the BJP won 18 seats and was leading in 8. The other parties won 5 seats and were leading in 1. Independent Manohar Dhiman won from Indora (SC), Ajay Mahajan of the Congress won from Nurpur and Hans Raj of the BJP won from Churah (SC). Yadvinder Goma of the Congress has also won from Jaisinghpur (SC).
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal has conceded defeat as Congress continued to lead in more than half of the seats. "We will discuss the poll results and the reasons. We have to see where we failed," Dhumal said. The Congress won 18 seats and was leading in 18, the BJP won 12 seats and was leading in 14 while the others won 3 seats and were leading in 3.
Govind Singh Thakur of the BJP won from Manali, while Jagat Singh Negi and Khub Ram of the Congress won from Kinnaur and Anni. The Congress won 16 seats and was leading in 20, the BJP won 8 seat and was leading in 18, while the others won one seat and were leading in 5.
The Congress has won 13 seats in Himachal Pradesh and was leading in 25 seats while the BJP won 7 and was leading in 17 seats. Other parties won one seat and were leading 5.
From the Congress, Mohan Lal Brakta won from Rohru (SC), Anirudh Singh won from Kasumpti, Bumber Thakur won from Bilaspur, Asha Kumari wins Dalhousie, Thakur Singh Bharmouri won from Bharmour (ST), Vidya won from Theog.
From the BJP, Ishwar Dass Dhiman won from Bhoranj (SC), Bal Krishan Chauhan won from Chamba, Randhir Sharma won from Shri Naina Deviji and Vijay Agnihotri won from Nadaun.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal won from the Hamirpur seat defeating his nearest Congress rival Narinder Thakur by a margin of over 9,500 votes. However, Congress was ahead, winning 7 seats and leading in 30 seats. The BJP won 4 seats and was leading in 21, while the others won one seat and were leading in 5.
The Congress won two seats with party leader Rakesh Kalia winning the Gagret seat. The Congress was now leading in 36 seats. The BJP also won two seats and was leading in 22, while the others won one seat and were leading in 5.
Congress's Kishori Lal won the Baijnath (SC) seat in Himachal Pradesh, while Congress was leading in 39 seats. The BJP was leading in 23 seats, while others won in one seat and were leading in four.
The Congress won in one seat in Himachal Pradesh and was leading in 38 seats. The BJP was leading in 24 seats, while others won in one seat and were leading in four.
As the leads for all 68 seats came in in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress looked set to form the government in the state. The Congress was leading in 39 seats, BJP in 23 while the others were leading in 6 seats.
As the leads suggested that Congress was close to winning the Himachal Pradesh polls, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said, "The Himachal Pradesh result shows there is no anti-Congress wave." However, BJP leader Anurag Thakur said it was too early to come to a conclusion. "It's too early to say anything, still six rounds to go. We will wait for full and final results to come," Thakur said.
The Congress was now well ahead in Himachal Pradesh, leaving the BJP far behind. While the Congress was leading in 37 seats, BJP was leading in 24 seats while others were leading in 7 seats as trends came in for all 68 seats.
As Congress continued to lead above the half-way mark, party leader Virbhadra Singh said, "The Congress's lead in the initial trends is very natural. I am confident that Congress will form the government.
The Congress was leading in more than half the seats in Himachal Pradesh, while the BJP was far behind. The Congress was leading in 36 seats, the BJP in 23 and others were leading in five seats.
The Congress was rallying around the half-way mark in Himachal Pradesh, leading in 34 seats, while the BJP was leading in 22 seats. Other parties were leading in 5 seats.
The Congress was now leading in more than half of the seats in Himachal Pradesh. While the Congress was leading in 36 seats, the BJP was leading in 20. Other parties were leading in 5 seats.
The Congress took a comfortable lead in Himachal Pradesh, leading in 31 seats and also inched closer to the half-way mark. The BJP was leading in 22 seats while other parties were leading in three seats.
The Congress moved ahead of BJP in Himachal Pradesh. While the Congress was leading in 29 seats, the BJP was leading in 23.
The Himachal Pradesh contest saw a turn as Congress started leading in 26 seats, while the BJP was leading in 23. Other parties were leading in four seats.
The fight in Himachal Pradesh was becoming tighter with a close contest between Congress and BJP. While the BJP was leading in 22 seats, the Congress was leading in 20. The other parties were leading in five seats.
The BJP and Congress are now neck-and-neck with both the parties leading in 19 seats each.
The race started to tighten in Himachal Pradesh with the Congress inching closer. While the BJP was leading in 19 seats, the Congress was leading in 16. Other parties were leading in four seats.
As BJP continued to lead in Himachal Pradesh, party leader and state Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said, "I hope to clear majority on my own. It is the selfless service we have done to the common man."
The BJP maintained its lead in Himachal Pradesh even as the Congress started closing in. While the BJP was leading in 20 seats, the Congress was leading in 13.
The BJP surged way ahead and was leading in 19 seats, while the Congress was far behind leading in nine seats.
While the BJP continued to maintain a comfortable lead over Congress, HP Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said, "Slow and steady wins the race. Let's see what happens today." The BJP was leading in 13 seats, while the Congress was leading in 6. Other parties were leading in one seat.
The BJP continues to lead, while the Congress started picking up, but was still well behind. While the BJP was leading in seven seats, the Congress was leading in three seats.
The BJP continues to maintain its lead in Himachal Pradesh. While the BJP was leading in 7 seats, the Congress was leading in one seat.
The BJP has taken a comfortable lead over the Congress, according to the early trends. While BJP was leading in five seats, Congress was leading in none.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken a slight lead over the Congress in Himachal Pradesh. BJP is leading in two seats, Congress in one.
8:34 am: Both the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress started neck-and-neck with one seat each in the trends in Himachal Pradseh as counting of votes began across the state.
8:00 am: The counting of votes for the Assembly polls began across the state amidst high security at counting booths. The fate of 459 candidates vying for the 68 Assembly segments of Himachal Pradesh, sealed in EVMs for past 46 days, would be decided on Thursday with the counting of votes starting simultaneously for all the seats.
Over 4,500 security personnel have been deployed at 39 places where 68 centres have been set up for counting and all the results are expected by afternoon.
As many as 33.49 lakh voters had exercised their franchise in the one-day polling on November 4 and sealed the fate of 459 candidates including Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and HPCC chief Virbhadra Singh.
There are 106 independents and 26 women candidates in the fray, whereas the ruling BJP and Congress are contesting on all seats.
The state has recorded highest polling of 74.70 per cent which was slightly higher than the 74.51 per cent polling in 2003.
The post-poll survey conducted in Himachal Pradesh by CSDS for CNN-IBN and The Week a few days after the state went to elections shows that the two main parties - ruling BJP and Congress - are involved in a dead heat, with no clarity on who will form the next government in the state. The survey conducted from November 7 to 14 in 32 Assembly constituencies of the state reveals that while the Congress has a slight edge over the BJP in terms of vote percentage, the same cannot be said when it comes to the seats.
The seat forecast done by Dr Rajeeva Karandikar, Director, Chennai Mathematical Institute, shows that both the Congress and the BJP are likely to win identical number of seats in the 68-member Assembly. According to the survey the state will witness a hung Assembly, giving the smaller parties and Independents an important say on who will form the next government.
While the Congress is likely to win 29 to 35 seats (the party had won 23 in 2007), the BJP may also end up with a similar tally of 29-35 (the party had won 41 in 2007). Other smaller parties are expected to get 2-6 seats (others had won four, which included three Independents and one by the BSP in 2007).
Congress leader Virbhadra Singh is the most preferred choice for the chief minister's post while incumbent Prem Kumar Dhumal and Shanta Kumar are too far behind. While 41 per cent of the voters prefer Virbhadra Singh as the next chief minister, Dhumal has the support of 35 per cent while Shanta Kumar gets the backing of just five per cent.
Why is the Himachal Pradesh election important?
- First polls after the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders, large middle class electorate affected by this move
- Polls will determine whether BJP's anti-graft campaign is working electorally
- It is a battle between two veterans - PK Dhumal of BJP and Virbhadra Singh of Congress
- In Himachal, unlike Modi in Gujarat, it is an even contest between Congress and BJP
- A win for Congress here will be a huge morale booster, a loss will add to its woes
Assembly Election Results of 2007
BJP 41
CONG 23
IND 3
BSP 1
Total = 68
(With additional information from PTI)
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