Today is a good day for Congress as it is set to win the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections. Till now BJP was in rule in Himachal and it is turning point for Congress as it wins the elections. The grand old party would be able to stop its electoral slide with a victory in Himachal Pradesh. Trends from Himachal, where the vote counting is in progress, show that the Congress has jumped ahead of the BJP on 39 of the 68 seats, with one seat already in its belt. The ruling party is ahead in 26 constituencies.
The Numbers:
Even though the Congress appears ready to form the next government in Himachal Pradesh, its six-term MLA Asha Kumari suffered a severe defeat in Dalhousie. Thus, falling behind the BJP’s Dhavinder Singh Thakur by more than 9,700 votes.
According to the Election Commission, Himachal Pradesh Minister Ram Lal Markanda faces defeat by his closest Congress opponent Ravi Thakur. In the Lahaul and Spiti assembly race on Thursday by a margin of 1,616 votes. Although, the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, are now under counting. Initial trends indicate that the Congress has surpassed the BJP on 39 out of a total of 68 seats.
In the past nearly forty years, Himachal has not elected an incumbent government back to office. Congress has suffered a string of election defeats over the past few years. Thus, the victory in Himachal is crucial to the party’s resurgence.
Other parties:
According to the Election Commission, K L Thakur, a rogue BJP member ran as an Independent. He won the Nalagarh assembly seat in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday.
By a margin of 13,264 votes, Thakur defeated Hardeep Singh Bawa, the closest Congress challenger.
However, it is not a good day for Aam Aadmi Party as it fails to enter Himachal as an opposition. AAP only manages to get 5 seats in the Himachal Elections which is far out of the competition. Although AAP did manage to enter as an opposition in Gujarat. This also marks the entry of AAP as a national party.
It is indeed a big day for Indian Elections. However, its a bigger day for Congress and BJP as they win in Himachal and Gujarat respectively.
