New Delhi: As the counting for the 68 assembly seats in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh is underway, the early leads show that the BJP is leading with 36 seats in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. The Congress on the other hand is breathing down BJP's neck with 32 seats, as the Exit Polls had projected a close contest between the two parties on Monday.
According to the ABP News-CVoter Exit Poll Results 2022, BJP is predicted to retain the hill state with 33 to 41 assembly seats, while Congress is to take the second lead with 24 to 32 assembly seats.
Most of the exit polls on Monday predicted that BJP will retain power in Himachal Pradesh, and one exit poll predicted that Congress will form the government in the hill state.
Click Here For Live Updates On Himachal Pradesh Election Results 2022
Click Here For Live Updates On Gujarat Election Results 2022
In the hill state, voters have traditionally changed the government every five years, and Congress ran its campaign this time asserting that history would repeat itself and the BJP would be ousted from power. The BJP, however, confidently said throughout their campaigning that the 'tradition' would change this time and voters would give them another chance.
While trends keep changing throughout the day, the final results would be clear only after the Election Commission announces the final numbers expected by Thursday evening.
The state is witnessing a battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress but the new entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and 99 independent candidates, including 20 rebels from the BJP and seven from the Congress.
In the 2017 Assembly election, the BJP won 44 seats and Congress 21. BJP secured 48.79 per cent of the vote share, whereas Congress won 41.46 per cent.
Elections to the 68 assembly seats in the state were held in a single phase on November 8 that witnessed a voter turnout of 74.61 percent with the Sirmour district recording the highest of all, 79.91 percent voting.