Congress wrests Himachal Pradesh from BJP

Anti-incumbency, party rebels and the Congress’ focus on local governance issues scotch the BJP’s hopes of returning to power, as the State kept up its three-decade tradition of voting out the incumbent

The Congress made a comeback in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, by winning 40 seats in the high-stakes electoral contest for the 68-member Legislative Assembly, edging out the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), which had appeared confident of returning to power. 

Himachal Pradesh result updates | CM Thakur resigns, Assembly dissolved as Congress registers comeback win

Himachal Pradesh has seen a bipolar electoral system for more than three decades, with the Congress and the BJP alternately forming the government. Yet again, the voters in the hill State have followed the tradition of throwing out the incumbent government after five years of governance.

The ruling BJP, which was aiming to once again form the government with its high-pitched “mission repeat” campaign, failed to go beyond the 25-seat mark in the State assembly. While Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur won by a record margin of over 37,000 votes — the highest-ever by any CM in the State — eight of his 10 ministers lost the election.

The Congress party won 40 assembly constituencies while the BJP could register a win in only 25 seats. Three Independent candidates have also won, according to the results and trends declared by the Election Commission of India on Thursday. In the Himachal Pradesh legislature, 35 seats marks the majority needed by any party or alliance to stake a claim to form the government in the State.

According to the Election Commission’s data, the Congress secured around 44% of the popular vote while the BJP secured a 43% vote share. The AAP was able to get only 1.1% of the vote share, while 0.59% of voters chose the None of the Above (NOTA) option.

Mr. Thakur has submitted his resignation to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar who has accepted it, according to an official statement. It added that the Governor, as advised by the Council of Ministers, has dissolved the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly with immediate effect.