Election Results 2022: BJP Increases Vote Share In Gujarat Heading For 7th Term, Know Situation In Himachal

BJP's all-out personalised campaign led by PM Narendra Modi attempted to buck the 'alternative government' trend in Himachal while in Gujarat, it was about retaining the saffron party's stronghold.

In Himachal, trends showed the ruling BJP and Congress tie or attain a very close lead against each other while there's a clear mandate for the ruling party in Gujarat.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Official trends for Gujarat election indicate a clear mandate in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party whereas, in Himachal Pradesh, it is turning out to be a close contest between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress. Counting of votes for the Assembly polls began on Thursday in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh where the ruling BJP aims to retain power.

The BJP's all-out personalised campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to buck the 'alternative government' trend in Himachal while in Gujarat, it was about retaining the saffron party's stronghold.

Here is the poll percentage in both states as per the ECI's official website:

The ruling BP has not lost an election in the Gujarat since 1995. The results of the two-phase elections, held earlier this month, are being watched more for the performance of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) battling to grab the status of the main opposition party in the state. In 2017, BJP secured a vote share of 49.05% and as per the ECI update, it is witnessing an increase in vote share (53.6%) while heading for a seventh term.

In Himachal, trends showed the ruling BJP and Congress tie or attain a very close lead against each other. Meanwhile, the AAP has not been able to secure a lead in any seat. As of now, the Congress leads on 35 seats (majority mark), and the BJP has won one seat with Chief Minister Jairam Thakur winning in Seraj and the party is leading on 29 seats.

In the case of a tie or either party failing to secure a majority, independents would play the role of kingmakers in enabling either side to form the government in Himachal. Independent candidates KL Thakur and Hiteshwar Singh were leading in Nalagarh and Banjar Assembly constituencies, respectively, ANI reported.

Exit Poll 2022

As per the ABP News-CVoter Exit Poll Results 2022, the BJP is expected to bag anywhere between 128-140 seats and secure a vote share of 49.4 per cent.

The ABP News-CVoter Exit Poll gave Congress 31-43 seats, a drastic fall from the 77 seats it won in the previous Assembly election. The Congress is expected to get just 32.5 per cent of the votes. In the 2017 polls, the grand old party secured 41.4 per cent of the vote share.

New entrant AAP, which led an energetic campaign in Gujarat by showcasing its "Delhi model" of education and healthcare, is likely to open its account in the state and get anywhere between 3-11 seats.

ABP-CVoter Exit Poll Results 2022 for Himachal Pradesh suggested that BJP will be able to retain the hill state with 33 to 41 assembly seats coming in their kitty, which means they will be just two short of the majority even if they get only the minimum seats projected. Congress will be breathing down BJP's neck but the projected seat range (24 to 32 assembly seats) suggest that it will not be enough to get over the hump — three short of the majority even if they get the maximum seats projected.

With independents pegged to get 0 to 4 seats, they are set to play a big role in both scenarios, as has been the case in the past in Himachal.

Counting Of Votes

Counting of votes began at 8 am with the taking up of postal ballots first. After a gap of 30 minutes from the commencement of counting of postal ballot papers, counting of votes for electronic voting machines (EVMs) commenced at 8.30 am.

The EVM counting will continue irrespective of the stage of postal ballot counting, the Election Commission stated.

The commission has made elaborate arrangements for the counting of votes.

About 76.44 per cent of voters had exercised their franchise in the assembly polls held on November 12.

As many as 52,859 (87 per cent approximately) postal ballots were received by December 6 by the returning officers from all over the state – an increase of 17 per cent as compared to 2017. A total of 45,126 postal ballots were received in 2017, news agency PTI reported.