Himachal Election 2022 Results LIVE: PM Modi thanks people for affection & support for BJP

Though the BJP lost to Congress in the Himachal Pradesh elections 2022, outgoing CM Jairam Thakur won Seraj with a margin of 38,183 votes, the highest margin recorded by any winning candidate in the Himachal Pradesh election 2022.

Speaking to reporters in Chandigarh over Congress' victory in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel said, "This is the first win under Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, people have trusted Congress again. We cannot deny the possibility of horse-trading in view of BJP's recent political trends."

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted, "Heartfelt thanks and greetings to the people of Himachal Pradesh for giving a mandate to the Indian National Congress. This victory is the victory of the resolution of the people of Himachal for the issues and progress. Many best wishes to all the leaders and workers of the Congress party. Your hard work paid off."

After resigning as the CM of Himachal, Jairam Thakur tweeted, "We accept the mandate with humility. Special thanks to the respected Prime Minister and the central government for their valuable cooperation over the last five years. Thanks for the five years given by the people of the state for service. We will always be ready for the all-round development of Himachal."

"I thank the people of Himachal Pradesh for the affection and support for the BJP. We will keep working to fulfil the aspirations of the state and raise people’s issues in the times to come," PM Modi tweeted.

The Congress party has won the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections 2022 as it bagged 35 seats in 68 seat assembly, a magical number to form government in the state. The party is still leading in 5 seats.

As per the EC, Congress has bagged 32 seats and is currently leading in 7 seats. The Grand Old Party needs three more seats to the majority of its own in Himachal. On the other hand, the BJP has won 17 seats and is leading in 9 seats as the counting of votes continues.

After conceding defeat in the Himachal assembly elections, Jairam Thakur met Governor R V Arlekar at Raj Bhavan in Shimla and tendered his resignation as Chief Minister. "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," he told reporters.

Congress Himachal chief Pratibha Singh spoke to Republic as the party celebrate victory in Himachal Pradesh. "We will fulfil what we said in our manifesto. We got huge support from women... We will bring schemes to resolve women's issues," she told Republic.

Outgoing Himachal CM Jairam Thakur arrived at the Governor's house to hand over his resignation.

After Congress crossed the majority mark in Himachal, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge interacted with the media and said, "We won Himachal Pradesh. I want to thank the voters and the people of Himachal… Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra have also helped us with this. We also have Sonia Gandhi's blessings... 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)."

Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh is likely to hold a press conference at the party office in Shimla at 5 PM. 

On the Himachal Pradesh elections, Maharashtra DyCM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said, "It is true that we didn't get the expected result in Himachal. There is a tradition in Himachal that every 5 years government changes. This year, we expected to break this trend. We have got a good vote share. Congress got only 1% more votes than us. We fall short of breaking the trend."

Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh has won from Shimla Rural seat with a margin of  13,860 votes, according to the EC.

As per the EC, the Congress party has secured 15 seats and is currently leading in 24 seats as the counting of votes continues. The BJP has won 13 seats and is leading in 13 seats as well. Three independent candidates have also registered victory.

Congress registered victory in 11 seats and is leading in 28, as per the EC. On the other hand, the BJP has bagged 9 and is leading on 17 as counting continues. The EC's official trends show that Congress has crossed the majority mark of 35.

As Congress crosses the majority mark in Himachal Pradesh, the party's state chief Pratibha Virbhadra Singh said, "People have given us the mandate, there is no need to fear. We can meet (our MLAs) anywhere including Chandigarh or in the state. Those who have won will be with us and we will form the government." She also asserted that party high command will decide on who will be the next CM.

As Congress crossed the majority mark in Himachal Pradesh, MP Anand Sharma said, "Congress has won in north India after several years. This will boost morale and influence other states. When the election comes next year - in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh - you will see that a message has been sent. Old Pension Scheme had been demanded by other states too and here in Himachal, it was demanded by Govt employees and their staff. The reasons will be analysed".

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

In Himachal Pradesh, Congress registered victory in Jubbal-Kotkhai, Kinnaur, Chamba & Shimla seats, and is leading in 36 seats. BJP has won Mandi, Nurpur, Pachad, Paonta Sahib & Sundernagar and currently leading in 20 seats.

BJP candidate and minister Sukh Ram Chaudhary registered victory from the Paonta Sahib seat, according to ECI, with a vote margin of 8,596 votes.

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

Congress is ahead in 38 seats with a vote share of 43.4%. BJP is leading in 27 seats with a vote share of 43.3%.

As per the latest EC trends, Congres is leading in 39 seats and BJP is leading in 26 seats. Independents are leading in three seats.

According to the EC, Congress is leading in 40 seats whereas the BJP is leading in 25 seats. 

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ranbir Singh registered victory in the Nurpur Assembly constituency, according to ECI.

Here's the party-wise vote share from EC:

Speaking to PTI, Congress in-charge of Himachal Pradesh, Rajiv Shukla said, "If Congress wins in Himachal Pradesh, we'll do everything in people's interest; Priyanka Gandhi Vadra worked hard, campaigned extensively."

As Congress crosses the half mark in Himachal Pradesh, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya speaks to Republic, says "For certain, if we lose, we'll introspect." 

As per the latest official trends, Congress is leading in 40 seats while BJP is leading in 25 constituencies.

According to the sources, Congress planning to shift all Himachal MLA contenders to Chattisgarh. The Grand Old which has crossed the majority mark in EC's trend is discussing taking MLAs by charter plane to Chattisgarh, sources said.

Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh thanks the people of Himachal as the grand old party takes lead in the state. "We will form a government with a full majority and our government will run for 5 years. She (Pratibha Virbhadra Singh) is one of the contenders for the CM post," Singh told reporters.

BJP leading in 11 seats with less than a 2,000 margin. Meanwhile, Congress leading in 10 seats with less than a 2,000 margin.
 

Congress is leading in 37 seats, two more than the required to form the government. On the other hand, BJP is leading in 28 seats. Independents are leading in 3 seats.

Speaking to Republic, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, "In Himachal, the victory margins are very slender. I can say there are 15 seats where the margin is just about 1000 votes. We are still confident Himachal Pradesh will also get a double-engine govt."

Independent candidate from Hamirpur, Ashish Sharma leading in the Assembly constituency, as per ECI. "I'm awaiting the final results, and will take any decision (on extending support to another party) after the results are out," he says.

Here's party-wise vote share in Himachal Pradesh. according to EC:

In the latest EC trends, Congress is ahead in 38 seats. On the other hand, BJP is ahead in 27 seats.

Republic has learnt that the BJP is in contact with independent candidates who are leading in their constituencies in Himachal Pradesh. According to the sources, BJP was in touch with all the 21 independent candidates soon after the voting for the Assembly polls got concluded on November 12. 

As of now, independent candidates are leading in three seats.

Congress is leading in 37 seats and BJP is leading in 28 seats. Independents are leading in 3 seats.

BJP leader Rakesh Kumar has registered victory from Sundernagar seat defeating Congress' Sohan Lal with an 8,125 votes margin, according to EC.

Speaking on Himachal Pradesh 2022 results, Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "No neck-to-neck fight, we're heading towards an absolute majority & going to give a stable govt. No Operation Keechad will work & neither will we allow it."

Congress has crossed half mark with a lead in 35 seats. BJP is trailing behind with leads in 30 seats.

Congress has once again maintained a lead over BJP by two seats, according to EC. Congress leading in 33 seats while BJP is leading in 31.

CM Jairam Thakur registered a victory in the Seraj seat with over 20,400 votes margin. 

Independent candidates KL Thakur and Hiteshwar Singh lead in Nalagarh and Banjar Assembly constituencies, respectively. Independent candidate Ashish Sharma is leading from the Hamirpur seat while another independent candidate Hoshiar Singh is leading from Dehra.

Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis met with an independent Himachal Pradesh candidate in Mumbai. Singh is leading in Dehra by a margin of 5,055 votes.

BJP and Congress both are leading in 32 seats as per the EC trends. However, BJP's vote share is at 44.1% while Congress' vote share is at 42.8%. Independents are leading in 4 seats.

BJP's Manoj Tiwari speaks to Republic over Himachal Pradesh election results, saying, "Our sources are telling us we are poised for the majority in Himachal Pradesh."

BJP has again taken lead over the Congress party by 2 seats. BJP is leading in 33 seats, two short of the majority and Congress leading in 31, as per the EC. Independents are leading in 4 seats.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi is monitoring the Himachal elections from her farmhouse in Chrabda near Shimla.

BJP and Congress leading in 31 seats each as per the EC's trends. However, BJP's vote share is 44.3% and that of Congress is 42.6%

As per the EC, Congress is ahead of BJP by 2 seats, leading in 32 seats. BJP leading in 30 seats.

Both BJP and Congress are leading in 30 seats each, as per the EC.

As per the EC, BJP is leading in 30 seats and Congress is two seats behind with leads in 28 seats.

Chief Minister Jairam Thakur is leading with a 6,632 votes margin in the Seraj seat. Also, Congress leader and former CM late Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh is leading, but with a thin margin of 932 votes from Shimla Rural seat.

As per official trends, BJP is leading in 31 seats with a 45.9% vote share, Congress is leading in 23 seats (41.1%). Independents are leading in 3 seats.

According to the EC, the BJP is leading in 22 seats and Congress is leading in 16. Independents are leading in 3 seats.

BJP is leading in 20 seats while Congress is leading in 13. Independents are leading on two seats.

CM Jairam Thakur is leading with over 2200 votes margin, according to EC.

As per EC, BJP is leading in 13 seats, Congress in 11. Two independents are also leading.

As per the official trends, the saffron party is leading in 7 seats with a vote share of 49.1% and Congress is leading in 3 seats with a 39.8% vote share.

BJP has maintained a lead of 4 seats over Congress. BJP is leading in 36 seats, while Congress is leading in 32 as per trends. AAP is still at 0.

As per EC, the Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in 3 seats with a 53.9% vote share and Congress is leading in one with a 34.1% vote share.

As per the Election Commission, Congress is leading with one seat in the early trends.

After maintaining a lead over Congress, BJP is now leading is leading with 33 seats and Congress leading in 34.

Early trends show no signs of AAP in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.

BJP has maintained a lead in 36 seats while Congress is leading in 32 seats.

Congress leader and former CM late Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh is trailing from Shimla Rural, as per the early trends.

BJP and Congress are leading in 32 seats each, while the AAP is still at 0, as per early trends.

Congress leading with 28 seats. BJP is leading in 23 seats.

As per the initial trends, there is a very close fight between the BJP and Congress. BJP leads and Congress both lead in 20 seats each.

In the early trends, there is a neck-to-neck fight between the BJP and Congress as they are leading in 16 & 15 seats respectively. Whereas, the AAP is still at 0.

According to the initial trends, the BJP is leading from the Chamba, Shimla Rural and Sri Renukaji seats while Congress is leading from Chopal.
 

CM Jairam Thakur is leading from the Seraj seat as per the initial trends.

In the early trends, the BJP has attained the lead over Congress. BJP leads in 6 while Congress lead in 5.

As per the initial trends, Congress is leading with 5 seats while BJP is behind by 1 seat.

As per the early trends, both BJP and Congress are leading in 1 seat each.

The counting of postal ballots has commenced. Watch the trends LIVE on Republic.

The counting of votes for the Himachal Assembly elections has commenced. While BJP will seek to break the alternate govt trend and retain power in the state, Congress aims to wrest control of the state assembly.
 

Here are outside visuals from Jairam Thakur's residence:

According to the sources, senior BJP leaders Vinod Tawde and Mangal Pandey have been invited for breakfast at incumbent CM Jairam Thakur’s residence. BJP’s 'Breakfast Diplomacy' will begin at around 8 am at CM’s residence where the saffron party will decide the stake of rebels who contested independently, sources told Republic.

Will BJP buck Himachal Pradesh's 'alternating' trend? Watch Republic's live coverage.

Arnab is LIVE before vote-counting begins in the Gujarat & Himachal Pradesh elections. Tune in to watch here.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla speaks to Republic over alternate govt trends in Himachal Pradesh. Exuding confidence in the saffron party’s victory in Himachal, Poonawalla said, "The country is witnessing politics of pro-incumbency."

Outside visuals from the BJP office in Shimla:

Here are fresh visuals from outside the counting centre in Shimla.

Amid the election heat in Himachal Pradesh, the state Meteorological Centre has forecast light rain/snowfall in several parts of Himachal today. Parts of Shimla, Chamba, Lahaul Spiti, Kullu, Kinnaur and Kangra are likely to see light rain/snowfall today.

Senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde reached Shimla to monitor the situation.

According to the sources, Congress has deployed former Haryana CM Bhupinder Hooda, Chhattisgarh CM  Bupesh Baghel and Himachal Pradesh in-charge Rajiv Shukla to bring Congress Himachal MLA contenders to a 'safe zone' and protect them from 'poaching'. Notably, Hooda and Shukla are in Chandigarh presently whereas Baghel is in Delhi. 

The Election Commission has made adequate preparations for the counting of votes. There will be 68 counting halls in 59 locations across the state. Himachal Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Maneesh Garg said that 10,000 duty staff including the security personnel have been deployed as part of security arrangements.

LIVE: Watch the biggest coverage of the Himachal elections here on Republic.

The countdown is winding down for the counting of votes. Republic is reporting #LIVE from multiple locations in Himachal Pradesh.

Here are key contests:

• Seraj: CM Jairam Thakur (BJP) vs Chet Ram (Congress)
• Harimpur: Narinder Thakur (BJP) vs Pushpinder Verma (Congress)
• Shimla Rural: Vikramaditya Singh (Congress) vs Ravi Mehta (BJP)
• Mandi: Anil Sharma (BJP) vs Champa Thakur (Congress)
• Kangra: Pawan Kumar Kajal (BJP) vs Surinder Kumar (Congress) 
• Haroli: Mukesh Agnihotri (Congress) vs Ram Kumar (BJP)
• Theog: Rakesh Singha (CPIM) vs Kuldeep Singh Rathore (Congress) vs Ajay Shyam (BJP)

The PMARQ, Matrize News Communication and C-Voter exit polls have projected that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to win an average of 37 seats in Himachal Pradesh. On the other hand, Congress is forecast to bag an average of 30 seats.

The BJP is most likely to emerge as the biggest party in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh as it is projected to witness a victory in the assembly elections. The two-phased elections concluded on December 5 in Gujarat and the Republic-PMARQ exit poll shows the saffron party towering over Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). As we edge closer to the election results for both states on December 8, here are five key takeaways from the exit polls.

If the BJP manages to win in Gujarat, as the exit poll predicts, it would create history by becoming the longest-serving party in a state. The saffron party, which would secure a government till 2027 since 1990, would surpass West Bengal's Communist Party of India (CPM) which ruled the state for 34 years (from 1977 to 2011).  It is worth noting that Gujarat has not always been a stronghold of the BJP as it was initially a Congress territory since the party had managed to occupy vote shares as high as 80% between 1962 to 1990. However, the party has managed to maintain a grip on power ever since and won 99 seats followed by Congress (77 seats) in the 2017 elections. 

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While the BJP has a razor-thin edge over the Congress in Himachal, the party is still expected to bag 44.8% of the vote share with 34-39 seats. If it emerges victorious, the BJP would become the first party to form a government in two consecutive terms, breaking the trend of alternative wins in the 68-member assembly. Himachal has been a stronghold of both Congress and the BJP as the former's Virbhadra Singh and the latter's Prem Kumar Dhumal have been on a rotation every five years since 1993 till incumbent CM Jai Ram Thakur's appointment in 2017.

Hours ahead of the announcement of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly poll results, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Wednesday asserted his confidence in the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory. Referring to the exit polls predictions, Thakur claimed that the saffron party will again form the government in the hill state with a full majority. 

"All exit polls indicate a win for BJP in Himachal Pradesh. We will again form government in the State," Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

Notably, the counting of votes in the Himachal Pradesh elections will be held on Thursday, December 7. The polling for the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly took place in a single phase on November 12, 2022. 

The 2017 Assembly elections in India's Himachal Pradesh recorded a historic 79.8 percent voter turnout. This also inked the ending of the Congress era and the advent of the BJP government that secured 44 seats. The 2022 Himachal Pradesh elections notably had a lower turnout comparatively at just 66 percent. It is yet to see if it seals a pro-incumbency sentiment wave as envisioned by the BJP.

Two days ahead of the counting of votes for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, both BJP and Congress on Tuesday claimed that they will get more than 40 seats of the total 68. Himachal Pradesh BJP president Suresh Kashyap said heavy voting by the women electorate and the overall 76.61 per cent polling in the assembly elections was an indication that the saffron party would again form the government in the state. In a press release issued to PTI, he said a meeting of the national-level office bearers of the BJP was held in Delhi and party officials from Himachal Pradesh participated in it.

A party needs the support of at least 35 candidates to form the government in Himachal Pradesh. But exit polls indicated that the Congress and the ruling BJP might struggle to make it to this half-way mark when the results are declared on December 8. With exit polls pointing at the possibility of a hung assembly in Himachal Pradesh, some independent candidates claim they have started getting feelers from the two main parties for their support. 

Just a day ahead of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election result day, the Congress on Wednesday, December 7, expelled 30 members from its state party unit for six years, on the grounds of anti-party activities during elections.  Expelled leaders are from Shimla district itself and the decision was taken by Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh, based on a resolution received from the Block Congress Committee. 

The Assembly Elections in Himachal Pradesh took place in a single phase on November 12, 2022. The major political parties in the fray are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on 8 December 2022. 

As per Republic Media Network's poll of polls, the PMARQ, Matrize News Communication and C-Voter exit polls have projected that the BJP is likely to win an average of 37 seats in Himachal Pradesh. On the other hand, Congress is forecast to bag an average of 30 seats.

P-MARQ Exit Poll predicts that the saffron party is likely to register a victory by winning between 34 to 39 Assembly seats. The majority mark in the Himachal Assembly is 35 seats. Notably, the exit polls further projected that the Congress will bag 28 to 33 seats in the Assembly polls, while Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party will be restricted to just 1 seat. Notably, the error margin for the P-MARQ Exit Poll is +/-3 per cent.

Chief Minister Jairam Thakur is predicted to win from the Seraj Assembly constituency. The exit poll projects BJP to get 44.8 percent of the vote share, while Congress will have a vote share of 42.9 percent. AAP's vote share will stand at 2.8 percent.

Himachal Pradesh's CM Jairam Thakur expressed confidence about the prediction of the exit polls about the BJP’s win and that the party will form the government in the state. In Himachal Pradesh, the people have not voted back any party to power for the second time, since its formation in 1971. The state recorded a 74.05 voting percentage in the assembly elections held on November 12.   

Himachal Pradesh’s CM Thakur said, “All exit polls indicate a win for BJP in Himachal Pradesh. We will again form government in the state.”

Ahead of the results, Congress claimed that the grand old party will come to power in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Speaking to the media, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu who was the chairman of the party's Campaign Committee in the state said, "I can say with a guarantee that a Congress government will be formed in Himachal Pradesh will a full majority. This claim is based on our field report. There are leaders and workers in Assembly seats. After holding deliberations with them, (I think that) the Congress party is not only forming the government with a full majority but is also gearing towards a landslide victory." 

In the 2017 HP Assembly election, while BJP won 44 seats in the 68-member assembly, Congress was reduced to 21 seats but won the bypoll of Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai in 2021.  AAP has tried to emerge as a key opposition force in HP which has traditionally been a bipolar contest between BJP and Congress. The P-MARQ Exit Poll prediction states that the ruling party BJP is set to win 34-39 seats, Congress is poised to win in 28-33 constituencies.

Vote counting for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election 2022 will commence on 8th December 2022 at 08:00 am. As many as ten centers have been organized for the vote-counting procedure and after the counting, the results for the assembly election will be declared. The major parties in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election are Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Indian National Congress (INC). The exit polls predict that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to make a comeback to the state.