Congress Surges Ahead In Himachal As 'Rivaj' Takes Precedence Over 'Raj'

A close fight is being witnessed between the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress in Himachal Pradesh while Independent candidates were ahead in four seats, according to the Election Commission. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had fielded candidates in 67 seats, is yet to open its account.

The Congress has surged ahead of the BJP leading 36 out of the 68 seats while the ruling party has won one seat and is ahead on 29, according to early trends from Himachal Pradesh where the counting of votes cast in the assembly polls is in progress. Independent candidates were ahead on three seats.

Chief Minister and BJP leader Jai Ram Thakur won after leading in the Seraj assembly constituency in Himachal Pradesh by a margin of over 22,000 votes over Chet Ram of the Congress, according to the Election Commission.

The result of one seat of Sundernagar in Mandi district has been declared where BJP's Rakesh Jamwal, who is the sitting MLA, has defeated his nearest Congress rival by a margin of 8,125 votes.

Candidates who are leading include Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur from Seraj, Ministers Bikram Singh (Jaswant Paragpur), Ram Lal Markande (Lahaul-Spiti), Rakesh Pathania (Fatehpur) and Speaker and BJP leader Vipin Singh Parmar (Sullah).

BJP's Puran Chand (Darang), former minister Narender Bragata's son Chetan Bragata (Jubbal Kotkhai) and former Union minister Sukh Ram's son Anil Sharma (Mandi Sadar) are among those leading.

Congress leader Mukesh Agnihotri, who is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, is leading from Haroli, while former state Congress chief Kuldeep Rathore (Theog), former minister Sudhir Sharma (Dharamsala), and Dhani Ram Shandil (Solan) too are ahead.

Others who are leading include Congress' Jagat Singh Negi from Kinnaur, Vikramaditya Singh, son of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh, from Shimla Rural, and Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu from Naudan.

Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra and K L Thakur from Nalagarh are among the Independents who are leading.

According to early trends, among prominent candidates who are trailing include ministers Rajinder Garg from Ghumarwin, Rajiv Saizal from Kasauli, Suresh Bhardwaj from Kasumpti and Virender Kanwar from Kutlehar and Sarveen Chaudhary from Shahpur.

Senior Congress leader and sitting MLA Asha Kumari was trailing from Dalhousie while Congress' Kaul Singh was trailing from Darang.

Chief Minister Thakur and Himachal Pradesh Congress president Pratibha Singh have maintained that their parties would get full majority with over 40 out of the 68 seats.

Counting of votes for the 68-member assembly began at 8 am in the state where the ruling BJP is hoping to retain power. 

Votes are being counted across 59 locations in the state.

In the first 30 minutes, postal ballot papers were counted and then the counting of votes for electronic voting machines (EVMs) commenced at 8.30 am.  

The results of the high-stakes elections will also reveal whether the BJP's all-out personalised campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to buck the 'alternative government' trend has worked or not.

For the opposition Congress, however, a victory in Himachal is much-needed for its revival, as it has seen a spate of electoral losses in the last few years.

However, according to TV channel reports, the Congress is leading in 37 seats and BJP in 31. 

About 76.44 per cent of voters had exercised their franchise in the assembly polls held on November 12. A total of 412 candidates including 24 women and 99 independents are in the fray. 

(with PTI inputs)