BJP’s Himachal CM candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal trailing from Sujanpur seat

Even as the BJP is set to form the government in Himachal Pradesh, the big setback for the party came from Sujanpur where its Chief Ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal is trailing.

Prem Kumar Dhumal is now trailing by 1371 votes from Sujanpur constituency, after early trends by Election Commission of India (ECI) predicted clear majority for BJP in Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections results on Monday.

Advertisement

Earlier, Dhumal was trailing by 540 votes from Sujanpur constituency.

Dhumal, 73, was elected as a Lok Sabha member for the first time in 1989 and has been BJP’s face in Himachal for two decades.

Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti is also trailing by 481 votes from Una constituency.

Results:

BJP has won three seats in Himachal and was leading in 39 constituencies.

BJP’s Ravinder Kumar wins from Jaisinghpur.

In Himachal Pradesh, all the 68 Assembly seats went to the polls on 9 November to decide the fate of 337 candidates including Chief Ministerial nominees Virbhadra Singh (Congress) and Prem Kumar Dhumal (Bharatiya Janata Party).

A total of 37,83,580 people voted — a record 75.28 per cent polling.

Earlier, various exit polls by news agencies had indicated the BJP’s return to power with an absolute majority, political observers said it was a neck-and-neck contest between the Congress and the BJP.

The state has alternately elected Congress and BJP governments since 1985. In 2012, the Congress won 36 seats and the BJP 26. Independents won six seats.