Lagatar24 Desk
Shimla, Dec 8: Both the BJP and the Congress are running for the seats in Himachal Pradesh, although none has a majority. With 33 seats in the lead, the opposition Congress has attained the necessary majority. The BJP, which is now in power and is aiming to keep it, has a lead that is currently very close to 31.
#HimachalPradeshElections | Congress leading on 33 and BJP on 31 seats as counting continues in the state with the majority mark being 35 pic.twitter.com/QGiAySx6O8
— ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2022
In the past nearly forty years, Himachal Pradesh has not elected an incumbent government back to the office.
The majority of exit polls indicated that the BJP would have an advantage in the hill state. In the meantime, the Congress expressed confidence in the party’s ability to win the assembly elections, stating that voters would make their decisions regarding the important issues of rising prices, unemployment, the outdated pension system, and other difficulties.
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If the predictions are correct and the BJP returns to power, the saffron party would have managed to buck the three-decade old tradition of voting out the incumbent government in the state. But the Congress has reiterated that Himachal sarkar (government) and not riwaz (tradition) would change.
In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, a party needs 35 seats to form the government. Barring one, all pollsters have given the BJP a slender edge in Himachal Pradesh. Most exit polls, however, predicted that the maximum the BJP could get in the hill state is 40, just six seats more than the half-way mark of 34 in the 68-member House.