Cong leading on 35 seats in HP, BJP wins 7 as counting continues

SHIMLA: Congress candidate Harish Janartha on Thursday won from Shimla constituency in Himachal Pradesh with a margin of 3037 votes. While Congress is leading on 39 seats out of 68 and BJP is leading on 18.

Janartha won with a total count of 15803 votes while the candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sanjay Sood trailed behind with 12766 votes.

As per the latest trends, the Shimla seat is the first to be won by Congress in Himachal Pradesh, however, so far, the BJP has won 7 seats including Mandi, Nurpur, Paonta Sahib, and Sundernagar, by 1.25 pm.

As per the EC till 2:10 pm congress is leading on 35 seats and won 5 seats so far while the BJP has won 7 seats and leading on 18 seats. Despite the Congress leading in the trends of the Election Commission of India, the BJP is still very hopeful of continuing to govern the hill state for the next five years.

In contrast, Congress says it would be "too soon" to say anything in accordance with the trends. "Though Congress is leading in many constituencies in Himachal, there is a neck-and-neck competition at many others.

We should wait till the election results are announced as the counting is still underway," Bhupesh Baghel said in his address to mediapersons in Raipur.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also said that it is too early to make comments and the party will respond when the final results are declared. "It is too early to speak now. Our party will speak in the evening only after the final results are declared," Kharge told reporters.

In Himachal Pradesh, as per the latest trends by the ECI, the BJP is currently leading in 21 seats after registering victory in four of the 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. The competition is tough as congress leads in 39 of them. Counting votes for Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh began at 8 am on Thursday.

In Himachal, there are 68 counting halls in 59 locations across the state. The elections for 68 assembly seats in the state were held on November 12 and around 75.6 per cent polling percentage was recorded.

The hill state witnessed an intense campaign with BJP trying to return to power for a second consecutive term and congress backing on its '10 guarantees' that the party listed out in its manifesto to take them home.

The emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party as the third major political force in the state has intensified the electoral battle.