In 2012, Congress won 36 seats as compared to BJP's 26
In the 2017 Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections, a total of 377 candidates contested for 68 seats.
BJP and Congress fielded candidates in all seats, the BSP contested in 42 seats and the CPI(M) in 14.
The Swabhiman party and the Lok Gathbandhan Party contested six each and the CPI in 3.
The hill State witnessed a record 75.28% turnout
Counting is underway for the 2017 Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Result at 42 booths in Himachal Pradesh
Six Exit Plls Say that BJP will wrest power from Congress
BJP ahead in 41 seats, while the Congress is leading in 22 constituencies
The halfway mark in the 68-seat Himachal Pradesh Assembly is 35 seats.
In Himachal Pradesh, the electorate has ‘swung’ again, bringing the BJP back to power and sending the Congress in opposition.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday wrested power from the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, securing a simple majority by winning 44 seats in the 68-member assembly.
The Congress, which fought Himachal elections under the leadership of Virbhadra Singh, ended with a seat tally of 21 seats, while three seats went to other parties.
Despite the BJP’s spectacular performance, its chief ministerial face Prem Kumar Dhumal lost his Sujanpur seat to Congress rival Rajinder Singh Rana by about 3,500 votes.
Prem Kumar Dhumal served as the State's CM from March 1998 to March 2003 and again from January 2008 to December 2012
Virbhadra Singh, the incumbent Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, has won his Assembly seat in Arki. He has defeated his BJP candidate Rattan Singh Pal by a margin of 6051 votes
The final seats tally
| Party | Seat Tally |
| BJP | 44 |
| Congress | 21 |
| Others | 03 |
| Total | 68 |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign after BJP’s success in
Himachal and Gujarat assembly elections, on his arrival for the winter
session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Monday Dec 18,2017
BJP President Amit Shah flashes victory sign as he is welcomed on his
arrival at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Monday, after the
party's victory in the Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal
Pradesh.
CPM scores first win in Himachal Pradesh in 24 years
After
nearly a quarter century, a Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM,
leader finally steps into the Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly.
Monday’s victory of labour rights activist and farmers leader Rakesh
Singha makes it only the fourth time a CPM member has ever been elected
to the state assembly. The last three occasions it won a legislative
assembly seat were in 1967, 1977 and 1993.
Congress veteran Vidya Stokes has been a five time MLA (though not consecutively) from Theog. In fact if it hadn’t been for a few misunderstandings, she very well could have contested this time as well. However, her nomination papers were eventually rejected for being incomplete. Stokes reportedly relinquished her seat for then chief minister Virbhadra Singh who, eventually, decided to contest from Arki. Eventually, it was this confusion and no small amount of infighting in the Congress which made things easier for Singha.
What makes Singha’s victory even more remarkable is that since 1982, either Stokes or BJP’s Rakesh Singh has always won Theog. Singh has mostly contested as an independent. Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of CPM tweeted #LalSalam for the historic victory in Theog.
The Left party has always had some presence in the Himalayan state, though mostly restricted to Shimla. In 2012, it had won both the mayor and deputy mayor posts in the Shimla municipality. This being the apple belt of Himachal, both demonetization and goods and services tax (GST) were important poll points as traders had felt the pinch.
The CPM’s poll plank was all about electing candidates who can keep both the Congress and the BJP, which have taken turns to govern the state, at bay. The student wing of the party, the Student Federation of India, has a strong presence in Theog. They were instrumental in organizing protests against the gang-rape and murder of a school girl earlier this year. The murder had rocked the state, resulting in large-scale violence.
“This victory (in Theog) is all the more significant since it comes in the background of a highly polarized contest between two major parties. This victory reflects the faith the people of Theog have reposed in the CPM to protect their rights,” a statement issued by the party said.
Interestingly, it was Singha who had won in 1993 also, but from the Shimla (Urban) seat. He had contested the election in 2012 also from Theog, but clearly, 2017 was meant to be his year.
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