Congress leads in 40 of 68 seats in Himachal Pradesh assembly elections

Shimla, December 8, 2022

The opposition Congress was leading in 40 seats as counting of votes in the elections to the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly progressed today.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was ahead in 25 constituencies and independent candidates in three.

Results in five constituencies have been declared so far, of which the BJP got four and the Congress one. The Congress was ahead in 39 other seats and the BJP in 21.

Counting of votes began at 8 am today amidst tight security and all the results are expected by this evening.

More than 75.60 per cent of the voters had exercised their franchise on November 12. There were 412 candidates in the fray, including 24 women.

The small hill state has not seen any incumbent party returning to power since 1985. Since then both archrivals -- the Congress and the BJP -- have ruled the state alternatively in eight terms.

IANS adds:

The three independent candidates, all BJP rebels, who are leading in their constituencies are Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra, Hiteshwar Singh from Banjar in Kullu and Ashish in Hamirpur Sadar, once the stronghold of two-time Chief Minister and BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, 57, won from his stronghold Seraj in Mandi district. Congress leaders Mukesh Agnihotri, 60, and Sukhvinder Sukhu, 58, are leading from Haroli and Nadaun seats, respectively.

NNN