LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Simla, Dec 8: The Congress on Thursday wrested Himachal Pradesh from the BJP as it crossed the majority mark of 35 seats in the 68-member Assembly in the hill state which maintained its tradition of not voting any incumbent government to power since 1985.
In the latest results and trends available, the Congress won 39 seats and was leading in 1, while BJP registered a win on 18 seats and was leading in seven others. Three Independents also emerged victorious. Aam Aadmi Party, which had contested on 67 seats, failed to open its account.
With the Congress on track to defeat the BJP and return to power in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur conceded the party’s defeat, saying he respected the verdict given by the people. He stated that he would soon be heading to the governor’s office to submit his resignation.
In the first declaration of results, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur won from the Seraj seat in Mandi by a margin of 37,007 votes. Thakur polled 33,256 votes (76.97%) of the votes, while his nearly rival, the Congress’s Chet Ram polled 8,956 votes (20.73%). In Sundernagar, BJP’s Rakesh Kumar has beaten Congress’s Sohan Lal by 8,125 votes. In five out of eight constituencies of Shimla district, the Congress is in the lead.
Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has contributed in party’s performance in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election result.
“We have won the Himachal elections. I want to thank the people, our workers and leaders as due to their efforts this result has come. I want to thank Priyanka Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra also helped us with this. Sonia Gandhi’s blessings are also with us,” Kharge told reporters.
“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),” said the Congress chief.
हिमाचल प्रदेश के मतदाताओं का बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद।
हमारे सभी कार्यकर्ताओं और पदाधिकारियों का धन्यवाद।
लोकतंत्र में हार-जीत होती है, गुजरात की जनता का जनादेश हम स्वीकार करतें हैं।
हम अपनी विचारधारा से समझौता करे बिना, लड़ते रहेंगे और जो कमियाँ हैं उन्हें हम दूर करेंगे। pic.twitter.com/iGZljSshh0
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) December 8, 2022
