Himachal Election Results 2022: Congress returns to 'Raj', BJP fails to break 'Riwaaj'

Congress is all set to form the next government in Himachal Pradesh as it won 40 seats, five more needed to achieve majority while BJP grabbed 25 seats and failed to break the tradition in the state which has not elected any incumbent government back to power since 1985.

Congress gains majority in Himachal Pradesh Assembly election, winning 39 of the 68 seats and leading in one more.

According to the latest results made available by the Election Commission, the BJP had registered win on 19 seats and was leading in 6 others.

Three Independents also emerged victorious. Aam Aadmi Party, which had contested on 67 seats, failed to open account.

Himachal Pradesh has not voted any incumbent government to power since 1985. In the 68-member Assembly, a party needs 35 members for majority.

People remembered Virbhadra Singh and because of that we got this success. The BJP government was in power for five years but no work was done that's why people were angry with the government, said Congress' Pratibha Singh.

She also pointed out BJP government's administration during Covid.

The Congress leader added that scandals took place during the BJP government which made people angry.

Rahul Gandhi on Himachal win | Heartfelt thanks to the people of Himachal Pradesh for this decisive victory. Hearty congratulations to all Congress workers and leaders. Your hard work and dedication really deserves the best wishes for this victory. I assure again, every promise made to the public will be fulfilled at the earliest.

I have handed over my resignation to the Governor. Will never stop working for the development of people. We need to analyse things. There were some issues that changed the direction of the results. I will go to Delhi if they call us, says outgoing Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur.

Congress wins 35 seats, leading in 5 seats; BJP wins 18 seats & is currently leading in 7 seats as counting continues.

Outgoing Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur reaches Raj Bhawan in Shimla to tender his resignation to the Governor.

Veteran Congress leader Dhani Ram Shandil has retained his Solan seat in Himachal Pradesh, defeating his nearest BJP rival and son-in-law Rajesh Kashyap.

Shandil defeated Kashyap by a margin of 3,858 votes.

Meeting of newly elected Congress MLAs is likeky to be held tomorrow in Chandigarh around 12 pm, say sources.

Incumben CM Jairam Thakur | I respect people's mandate & I want to thank PM & other central leadership during last 5 years. We'll stand for the development of the state irrespective of politics. We'll analyse our shortcoming and improve during the next term.

"We have won Himachal Elections. I want to thank the people, our workers & leaders as due to their efforts this result has come. I want to thank Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra also helped us in this. Sonia Gandhi's blessings are also with us," says Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.

"Our observers and in-charge secretaries are going there (Himachal Pradesh) and they will decide when to meet Governor and call a meeting of (Congress MLAs)," Kharge said.

Our observers and in-charge secretaries are going there (Himachal Pradesh) and they will decide when to meet Governor and call a meeting of (Congress MLAs): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge

Himachal Pradesh minister Suresh Bhardwaj lost from the Kasumpti seat, defeated by sitting Congress MLA Anirudh Singh. The victory margin for Anirudh Singh was 8,655 votes.

Bhardwaj was shifted to Kasumpti from Shimla (Urban) constituency.

Bhardwaj represented the Shimla (Urban) constituency in the outgoing assembly. 

I will tender my resignation to the Governor in a short while from now, says Outgoing Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur.

As the Assembly poll trends showed the Congress was likely to get a majority in Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday said the party needed to protect its MLAs in the hill state from any possibility of horse-trading.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can "go to any level", he claimed.

The Congress surged ahead of the BJP on 39 of the 68 seats with one seat already under its belt, while the ruling party has won four seats and was ahead in 21 constituencies, as per trends from Himachal Pradesh where the counting of votes was underway.

Baghel, who was appointed as senior observer by the Congress for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, denied speculation that the newly elected party MLAs from Himachal Pradesh will be shifted to Chhattisgarh.

"The counting is still underway and we should wait for the final results. However, we were confident that we will form government in Himachal Pradesh and the early trends show we are heading towards victory there," Baghel told reporters.

The Chhattisgarh CM said he will go to the northern state later in the day.

Asked whether Congress MLAs from Himachal will be shifted to Raipur amid the possibility of horse-trading, Baghel said, "They will not be brought. However, we have to protect our friends (MLAs) as the BJP can do anything. It can go to any level."

He claimed the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was the 'B team' of the BJP.

Speaking about the Bhanupratappur bypoll in the state's Kanker district, in which Congress candidate Savitri Mandavi was leading, Baghel said, "It shows the people have faith in the (state) government and they have put their stamp of approval on works done by party MLA Manoj Singh Mandvi."

Manoj Singh Mandavi's death in October this year necessitated the by-election in Bhanupratappur Assembly seat. Congress candidate Savitri Mandavi is the late MLA's wife.

The Congress party has so far won 25 seats, while it's leading on 14. BJP has won 13 seats and is leading on another 13. Independents have won 2 seats and are leading in one.

So far in Himachal Pradesh, out of total 11 ministers, 5 ministers have lost the elections.

Health Minister Dr. Rajeev Saizal, who contested from Kasauli seat in Solan district, has been defeated by Vinod Sultanpuri of Congress.

Education Minister Govind Singh Thakur also lost the election. Govind Singh Thakur was defeated by Bhubaneswar Gaur of Congress in Manali seat.

Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj lost the election to Anirudh Singh of Congress from Kasumpti seat in Shimla district.

Suresh Bhardwaj had won the last four elections from Shimla Urban seat. The BJP high command this time changed Bhardwaj's seat and gave him ticket from Kasumpti seat.

Sarveen Chowdhary, who was a minister in the Jairam government, lost the election to Kewal Singh Pathania of the Congress from Shahpur seat in Kangra district.

Minister Dr. Ramlal Markanda has lost the election from Lahaul-Spiti seat to Congress's Ravi Thakur.

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who has been appointed as Himachal's observer, is already present in Chandigarh and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel can also reach by night.

On the other hand, Himachal Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajeev Shukla will also reach Chandigarh late night post which further strategy will be chalked out.

The decision on whether the MLAs will be shifted to Jaipur or Raipur till the government is formed and the CM's face is chosen, will also be taken in Chandigarh itself.

BJP considered itself strong in Himachal Pradesh, PM Modi & Amit Shah visited the State several times, today Congress is going to form the government with a full majority, says Congress leader SS Sukhu, Congress.

Congress party workers celebrate at the Delhi office of the party after Congress crosses the majority mark of 35 seats In Himachal Pradesh amid the ongoing counting of the votes in the state.

BJP leader Ranbir Singh wins from Nurpur Assembly constituency, defeats nearest rival and Congress candidate Ajay Mahajan by 18,752 votes, according to Election Commission of India.

Congress leaders Bhupesh Baghel, Bhupinder Hooda, and Rajiv Shukla are heading to Himachal Pradesh as party inching towards majority in polls.

Former cabinet minister Thakur Kaul Singh, one of the possible CM faces of the Congress, has lost the election from the Darang assembly seat in Mandi.

There has been a major upheaval in Himachal's Lahaul Spiti. The people of Lahaul Spiti have reposed faith in the Congress. Ravi Thakur wins from Lahaul Spiti, defeats BJP minister Ramlal Markanda.

Result update | BJP's Rakesh Jamwal has won Sundernagar seat by margin of over 8,000 votes. Himachal is witnessing a neck-and-neck fight with Congress leading on 38 seats and BJP on 27.

Fierce contest going on 9 constituency in Himachal Pradesh. All India Congress Committee secretary has been tasked to stop poaching in Himachal.

BJP CM Jairam Thakur has won in Seraj constituency for the 6th time by margin of over 20,000. However, the contest in Himachal is still in cliffhanger situation as both BJP and Congress are in neck-and-neck contest. 

Independent candidates KL Thakur and Hiteshwar Singh lead in Nalagarh and Banjar Assembly constituencies, respectively.

As Himachal Pradesh seems to be heading for cliffhanger, BJP leaders are trying to establish contact with independents who are leading in election.

After 2.5 hours into counting both BJP and Congress are in neck-and-neck fight.

After 2 hours into counting, BJP and Congress are in neck-and-neck contest in Himachal Pradesh. Both parties leading on 32 seats each. 

Trends at 9:55 AM 

• Chintpurni seat: BJP's Balveer Singh leading against Congress' Sudarshan Singh by a margin of 236 votes
• Chamba seat: BJP's Neelam Nayar leading against Congress' Neeraj Nayar by a margin of 533 votes

Anni seat election result 2022: BJP's Lokendra Kumar leading against independent candidate Paras Ram by a margin of 2010 votes. Counting underway

Trends after 1.5 hours into counting in Himachal Pradesh.

Darang seat: BJP's Puran Chand leading against Congress' Kaul Singh by a margin of 540 votes 

Jawalamukhi seat: BJP's Sanjay Guleria leading against Chandar Kumar by 1322 votes 

Jubbal Kotkhai seat: BJP's Chetan Singh leadings against Rohit Thakur by maring of 423 votes 

Kinnaur seat: Congress' Jagat Singh leading against BJP's Surat Negi by margin of 508 votes

Banjar seat: Congress' Khimi Ram leading against Surendra Chaudhary by 286 votes

In Kullu, Surendra Singh Thakur of Congress is leading against BJP's Narottam Singh by 677 votes.

In Nadaun seat in Zila district, Congress' Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu is ahead against BJP's Vijay Aghnihotri. A neck-and-neck fight is on between Congress and BJP.

Interesting contest is being seen in Himachal Pradesh as trends have opened on all 68 seats. BJP is leading on 34 and Congress on 32 while others are ahead on 2 seats.

BJP CM Jairam Thakur is leading on Siraj constituency. In Bilaspur Sadar, BJP's Trilok Janwal is leading, and in Mandi district's Dharmpur seat, Congress candidate is leading.

In first 30 minutes of counting, BJP is ahead on 23 seats and Congress on 20. Kejriwal's AAP is still seen nowhere in the hill state. So far, its being a neck-and-neck fight between saffron and grand old party.

Initial trends show lead for BJP on 7 seats, Congress on 5 while the Aam Aadmi Party is seen nowhere so far. Stay tuned. 

As per initial trends in first 15 minutes of the counting, both BJP and Congress are leading on 4 seats each. Majority of exit polls have predicted a win for the saffron party while two polls have also shown that Congress may regain power in the state. 

Very first initial trends show BJP ahead in 2 seats and Congress taking lead in one seat. Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh was held on November 12.

The counting of votes in Himachal Pradesh assembly election 2022 has begun. BJP is hoping to break tradition in state which never elects an incumbent government in power while Congress vows to regain power and AAP wishes to make inroads in the hill state.

BJP is hoping for an encore on the back of its development agenda, while the opposition Congress is expecting voters to go by the four-decade old tradition of voting out the sitting government in the state.

The BJP has bucked the trend in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Assam, and Uttarakhand by repeating its state governments there, and is hoping to repeat its government in Himachal Pradesh, which is also the home state of BJP national president J P Nadda.

Both BJP and Congress camps are learnt to have been in touch with independent candidates who might play a key role in the event of a close contest, predicted in several exit polls, with a slender edge to the BJP.

The stakes are highest for the Congress which has been on a losing spree for over two years now, not registering a single state election victory on its own.

The party holds power only in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, both of which will go to polls in 2023. Congress insiders say that any hopes for the party's revival has to start from Himachal Pradesh.

"If we don't win Himachal, I don't know from where we will win," said a Congress leader.

A higher women turnout has of late favoured the BJP, as seen in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, with the party hoping that similar trends will hold in Himachal Pradesh. Women voter turnout in Himachal has surpassed men's since 1998.

In addition, a historic voter registration in the hill state in the 18-19 year segment has given the BJP a reason to believe it may have an edge.

The BJP's campaign in Himachal saw exclusive focus on women and youth, with the party rolling out a standalone manifesto for women for the first time in the state's history.

The Congress has been confident of its victory, saying the voters will decide on the fundamental issues of price rise, joblessness, the old pension scheme, and other challenges of life and livelihood the state residents have been facing.

With a muted campaign by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its former state in-charge Satyendar Jain lodged in Tihar jail, the Congress is upbeat that its vote share will only improve, while the BJP hopes to gain from a higher women vote percentage than men.

In the 2017 assembly elections, the BJP had won 44 seats and the Congress 21, with one seat going to CPI-M, and two to independent candidates.

Of 55 lakh voters in the state, over 75 per cent exercised their franchise in the November 12 election to elect its 68-member assembly and government. A total of 412 candidates are in the fray in this election.

Himachal Pradesh has not returned any incumbent government to power after 1985, a trend the ruling BJP, powered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personalised campaign, hopes to break. The BJP slogan this time was "Raj nahin, riwaaj badlega", meaning the convention will change, not the government.

All but two exit polls predicting an edge for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), pollsters are keenly watching which way the voters have decided in the closely fought contest.

Himachal Pradesh is set to reveal today if its voters have bucked the anti-incumbency trend and re-elected the ruling party BJP -- some thing that has not happened after 1985. Going by Himachal Pradesh’s "riwaaj", or tradition, it should be the Congress' turn to form the next government.