Himachal Pradesh Election Results 2022 Updates: Congress holds meeting of newly-elected Himachal MLAs

Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Thursday exuded confidence that the assembly election results will be in favour of her party even as the counting of votes for 68 seats in the state was underway. Pratibha Singh, wife of former chief minister late Virbhadra Singh, said the Congress is hoping to win at least 40 to 42 seats.

The Congress is leading in 23 other seats while the BJP is ahead in 13 seats

I respect people's mandate and I want to thank the PM and other central leadership for the last 5 years. We'll stand for the development of the state irrespective of politics. We'll analyse our shortcoming and improve during the next term: Outgoing CM Jairam Thakur

Kumari is among the chief ministerial probables in case the Congress wins the assembly elections. Dalhousie in Chamba district shot into limelight after veteran Congress leader and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh's aide Harsh Mahajan joined the BJP and queered the pitch for arch rival Kumari, who is seeking re-election from the constituency.

Thakur is leading in the Seraj assembly constituency in Himachal Pradesh by a margin of 38,000 votes over Chet Ram of the Congress, according to the Election Commission.

The Congress is leading in 28 other seats, BJP in 15 and other in 1 seat.

We express our gratitude to people of Himachal Pradesh. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra conducted rallies in state & mobilised cadre. BJP politics of breaking away people won't work, Congress has got a majority. BJP will split in state: Congress leader SS Sukhu

People have given us the mandate, there is no need to fear. We can meet (our MLAs) anywhere including Chandigarh or in the state. Those who have won will be with us and we will form the government: Pratibha Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Congress President

Congress is leading in 32 seats, BJP 18 seats and others 2 seats

Independent candidate Ashish Sharma on Thursday won from the Hamirpur assembly seat by defeating his Congress rival. Sharma defeated Congress candidate Pushpinder Verma by a margin of 12,899 votes.

Modi ji visited Himachal Pradesh a number of times, but could he make a dent here? BJP knew it would lose in the State and that is why PM Modi visited the state again and again: Pratibha Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Congress President

Congress' Harish Janartha won the Shimla (Urban) assembly seat on Thursday, beating his nearest BJP rival Sanjay Sood by a margin of 3,037 votes, according to the Election Commission.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda is already in Chandigarh. Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel & I will be going to Chandigarh & will be deciding by evening whether to call MLAs to Shimla or Chandigarh: Congress leader Rajiv Shukla

We are leading on 40 seats. We aren't afraid of 'Operation Lotus', if these figures continue then there won't be any such situation, said Shukla.

The Congress is sending Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, senior leaders Bhupinder Hooda and Rajeev Shukla to Himachal Pradesh on Thursday with the possibility of the party getting a majority in the hill state.

"The party is sending two observers -- Hooda and Baghel -- along with me. We will be travelling in some time to Himachal today," Shukla told PTI.

"Though the results are still coming in but it is a victory of the people. With the blessings of God, if the Congress wins, we will do everything possible for the interest of the people of Himachal Pradesh. Priyanka ji (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) campaigned a lot, she worked really hard," he said.

BJP candidate Ranbir Singh defeated Congress' Ajay Mahajan by a margin of 18,752 votes to win the Nurpur seat in Himachal Pradesh, according to the Election Commission.

The contest for Nurpur was keenly watched as Minister Rakesh Pathania, who has won three times from the seat, was shifted to Fatehpur as the BJP candidate.

After crossing the halfway mark in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress leadership on Thursday deputed senior leaders to keep the flock together amid poaching fears.

It also plans to shift the MLAS to Rajasthan via Chandigarh. According to sources, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is personally monitoring the situation. She has deputed Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for the purpose, while state Incharge of the state Rajeev Shukla is in the process of talking to each elected MLA personally.

The Congress on Thursday was leading the initial vote count in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls. It crossed the half-way mark and was ahead in 38 seats at around 11.40 a.m.

Chief Minister and BJP leader Jairam Thakur is leading in the Seraj assembly constituency in Himachal Pradesh by a margin of 37,007 votes over Chet Ram of the Congress, according to the Election Commission.

Thakur, 57, is seeking to continue as chief minister and break the tradition of 'alternate governments' in the state.

Himachal Pradesh has not returned any incumbent government to power in the last nearly four decades.

The Seraj constituency falls under the Mandi parliamentary seat, which state Congress chief Pratibha Singh represents. She won it in a by-election.

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Hooda on Thursday said the Congress will form its government in Himachal Pradesh going by the present election result trends.

The Congress is inching towards victory in the hill state with it leading in 38 seats, according to data on the Election Commission website.

"As per trends, we are going to form our government in Himachal Pradesh," Hooda told PTI.

"I would be leaving soon for Shimla along with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and AICC in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla," he said.

The Congress has asked Hooda, Baghel and Shukla to leave for Shimla and keep its flock of MLAs together and hold consultations for government formation there.

The Congress had campaigned extensively in Himachal Pradesh, urging voters to maintain the tradition of voting out the incumbent.

Himachal Pradesh has followed the tradition of alternating governments in the past four decades and the Congress and the BJP were directly pitted against each other in the hill state.

The election observer of Congress for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday expressed hopes of forming government in the hill state judging by the ongoing ECI trends.

Baghel, while addressing mediapersons also stressed his apprehensions of horse-trading of the Congress MLAs.

"Though Congress is leading in many constituencies in Himachal, there is a neck-and-neck competition at many others. We should wait till the election results are announced as the counting is still underway," Bhupesh Baghel said in his address to mediapersons in Raipur.

While mentioning that he will go to the hill state via the national capital, Baghel expressed hopes and said their expectation of forming a government in Himachal "appears to be coming true".

When asked if the Himachal MLAs will be brought to Raipur amid the apprehensions of 'horse-trading', Baghel said that they need to be cautious.

As per the latest trends by the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the Himachal Pradesh election results, the Congress is leading in 39 of the 68 assembly seats in Himachal.

The Congress is sending Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, senior leaders Bhupinder Hooda and Rajeev Shukla to Himachal Pradesh on Thursday with the possibility of the party getting a majority in the hill state.

"The party is sending two observers -- Hooda and Baghel -- along with me. We will be travelling in some time to Himachal today," Shukla told PTI.

"Though the results are still coming in but it is a victory of the people. With the blessings of God, if the Congress wins, we will do everything possible for the interest of the people of Himachal Pradesh. Priyanka ji (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) campaigned a lot, she worked really hard," he said.

He also thanked Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and general secretary organisation K C Venugopal for their cooperation in poll preparations.

While Shukla is AICC in-charge Himachal Pradesh, Baghel was appointed senior observer for the polls.

'If Congress wins in HP, we'll do everything in people's interest; Priyanka Gandhi Vadra worked hard, campaigned extensively': Rajiv Shukla

Congress has won Jubbal-Kotkhai seat of Shimla district. Sitting MLA Rohit Thakur of Congress defeated BJP's Chetan Bragta.

Incumbent MLA and Congress candidate Bhawani Singh Pathania and BJP's Rakesh Pathania were locked in a neck-and-neck contest in Himachal Pradesh's Fatehpur assembly seat, trends showed on Thursday.

After trailing in the initial rounds, Bhawani Singh took a lead of 456 votes. Vote count in favour of the Congress candidate stood at 14,097 votes, compared to 13,641 votes for Rakesh Pathania.

The BJP had shifted Forest Minister Rakesh Pathania from Nurpur, which he has represented three times, to Fatehpur.

The vote count in favour of BJP rebel and former Rajya Sabha MP Kripal Parmar was 1,966 votes while former Lok Sabha MP and AAP candidate Rajan Sushant has got only 452 votes so far.

BJP has won Bharmaur assembly seat by a margin of 5212 votes.

Independent candidate Ashish Sharma has won from Hamirpur seat.

Update on Himachal - Congress wins Lahaul-Spiti seat. Ravi Thakur of Congress has defeated BJP Minister Ram Lal Markanda.

Independent candidate Ashish Sharma has won from Hamirpur seat.

BJP has won Mandi (Sadar) seat. Anil Sharma son of former union minister late Sukh Ram defeated Champa Thakur daughter of senior Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur

Congress has won Jubbal-Kotkhai seat of Shimla district. Sitting MLA Rohit Thakur of Congress defeated BJP's Chetan Bragta.

The Congress has surged ahead of the BJP leading on 38 out of the 68 seats while the ruling party has won one seat and is ahead on 27, according to early trends from Himachal Pradesh where counting of votes cast in the assembly polls is in progress.

Independent candidates were ahead on three seats while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had fielded candidates on 67 seats, is yet to open its account, according to the Election Commission.

The result of one seat of Sundernagar in Mandi district has been declared where BJP's Rakesh Jamwal, who is the sitting MLA, has defeated his nearest Congress rival by a margin of 8,125 votes.

Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Thursday exuded confidence that the assembly election results will be in favour of her party even as the counting of votes for 68 seats in the state was underway.

Pratibha Singh, wife of former chief minister late Virbhadra Singh, said the Congress is hoping to win at least 40 to 42 seats.

"We are confident that results will be in favour of the Congress and we will form the government," she told reporters.

According to the latest trends given by Election Commission, the Congress was leading in 34 seats, followed by the BJP in 31 seats. Independent candidates were ahead in three seats.

Opposition Congress has taken a lead on 38 seats while the ruling BJP won one seat and was ahead on 26 in Himachal Pradesh where counting of votes was in progress on Thursday.

Independent candidates were ahead on three assembly seats, according to the Election Commission.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had fielded candidates on 67 seats, is yet to open its account.

The result of one seat of Sundernagar in Mandi district has been declared where BJP's Rakesh Jamwal, who is the sitting MLA, has defeated his nearest Congress rival by a margin of 8,125 votes.

Hans Raj Churah leading by +3470
Neeraj nayar Chamba by +5151
Dalhousie DS THAKUR BY +6044
Bhatiyat Bikram Jarial +207
Bharmour Dr. Janak Raj +3470
Nurpur BJP +11206
Indora INC +421
Fatehpur INC +456
JAWALI INC +474
DEHRA IND +7009
JASWAN BJP +1657
Jawalaji INC +3346
JAISINGHPUR INC +3536
SULAH BJP +2828
NAGROTA INC +14604
Kangra BJP +7793
SHAHPUR INC +7580
DHARAMSHALA INC +3489
PALAMPUR INC +2161
BAIJANATH INC +2015
Lahaul spiti INC +1089
Manali BJP +51
KULLU INC +5827
BANJAR INC +1012
ANNI BJP +3711
Karsog BJP +10374
SUNDERNAGAR BJP WON
NACHAN BJP +3303
SERAJ BJP +27472
DARANG BJP +3469
JOGINDERNGR BJP +8125
Dharampur BJP +835
MANDI BJP +8921
BALH BJP+1969
SARKAGHAT BJP +1981
Bhoranj BJP+2128
SUJANPUR INC+923
HAMIRPUR IND +9599
BARSAR INC+4361
NADAUN INC +4441

Nadaun became a hot seat in the elections as Former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who is seen as a chief minister contender, headed the Congress election campaign committee. Also, this was the fourth time that Agnihotri locked horns with him from the constituency.In the 2017 elections, Sukhu defeated Agnihotri by 2,349 votes, while in 2012, Agnihotri got the better of the Congress leader by more than 6,000 votes. In 2007, Sukhu defeated Agnihotri by over 500 votes.Home Minister Amit Shah's jibe at Sukhu about his chief ministerial candidature was also the talk of the town during the election campaigning.Shah had indirectly taken a dig at Sukhu's candidature, saying the Congress was a party of 'rajas and ranis' and even though many chief ministerial aspirants were in the fray, no one would actually get a chance.Top BJP leaders had campaigned for Agnihotri, who also remained steadfast in the area day and night, while Sukhu remained largely absent due to his responsibilities for the campaign.

Former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was leading ?by over 3,600 votes against the BJP's Vijay Kumar Agnihotri from Nadaun constituency in Hamirpur district, early trends showed.

Of the total 15,893 votes counted so far, Sukhu polled 9,362 against 5,756 votes for the BJP candidate.Shankey Thukral of the Aam Aadmi Party was at a distant third with 632 votes.

Surprisingly, in Theog, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) Rakesh Singha is leading in Theog constituency with 4340 votes with Congress' and BJP's candidates trailing behind with 4407 and 2302 votes.

As BJP is looking to establish a footing in the Haroli seat which has been represented by Congress's Mukesh Agnihotri since 2003, the latter is leading with 10514 votes and BJP's Ram Kumar trails with 8610 votes.

According to the ECI, in Shimla, Harish Janartha of Congress is leading with 8071 and BJP's Sanjay Sood is still trailing with 7172 votes in the recently held assembly elections.

Another BJP rebel candidate contesting as an Independent candidate from Dehra and is leading with 10903 votes so far. Besides, Congress candidate Dr Rajesh Sharma is ahead of BJP's Ramesh Chand by receiving 5848 votes till 10.55am.Meanwhile, the BJP rebel KL Thakur is also leading in Nalagarh with 12378 votes.

The vote counting trends of the Election Commission of India show that the Bharatiya Janata Party's rebels are leading from their respective constituencies in Himachal Pradesh as Independent candidates. However Congress is leading in 34 seats and BJP in 31.BJP's rebel Hiteshwar Singh is leading the Himachal assembly election as an independent candidate from Banjar with 8585 votes. However, Congress' Khimi Ram gained 8574 votes so far, and BJP's Surender Shourie is trailing with 7424 votes.

BJP candidate Rakesh Kumar has won from Sundernagar seat of Mandi district by a margin of 8125 votes

The other four candidates are Mahender Singh (CPI-M), Gita Nand (AAP), Indra Devi (BSP) and Narender Kumar (Independent).

Counting of votes for the 68-member assembly began at 8 am and the results of the elections will also reveal whether the BJP's all-out personalised campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to buck the 'alternative government' trend has worked or not.

The results of the elections will also reveal whether the BJP's all-out personalised campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to buck the 'alternate government' trend has worked or not.

For the opposition Congress, however, a victory in Himachal is much-needed for its revival, as it has seen a spate of electoral losses in the last few years.About 76.44 per cent of voters had exercised their franchise in the assembly polls held on November 12.

A total of 412 candidates, including 24 women and 99 independents, are in the fray.

Others who are leading include Congress' Jagat Singh Negi from Kinnaur, Vikramaditya Singh, son of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh, from Shimla Rural, and Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu from Naudan. Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra and K L Thakur from Nalagarh are among the Independents who are leading.

Candidates who are leading include Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur from Seraj, Ministers Bikram Singh (Jaswant Paragpur), Ram Lal Markande (Lahaul-Spiti), Rakesh Pathania (Fatehpur) and Speaker and BJP leader Vipin Singh Parmar (Sullah).BJP's Puran Chand (Darang), former minister Narender Bragata's son Chetan Bragata (Jubbal Kotkhai) and former Union minister Sukh Ram's son Anil Sharma (Mandi Sadar) are among those leading.

A close fight is being witnessed between the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress in Himachal Pradesh while Independent candidates were ahead in four seats, according to the Election Commission.The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had fielded candidates in 67 seats, is yet to open its account.According to the early trends available for all the 68 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in 33, the Congress in 31 while Independents were ahead in four.

Six-time Congress MLA Asha Kumari is trailing in Himachal Pradesh's Dalhousie assembly seat with BJP candidate D S Thakur in the lead, according to the Election Commission.

Kumari is among the chief ministerial probables in case the Congress wins the assembly elections.

Dalhousie in Chamba district shot into limelight after veteran Congress leader and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh's aide Harsh Mahajan joined the BJP and queered the pitch for arch rival Kumari, who is seeking re-election from the constituency.

His support to Thakur was a boost for the BJP that is looking to come to power in the hill state again.

In a neck-to-neck competition between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress (INC), trends show both leading at 32 seats in Himachal Pradesh.However, State Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who hails from BJP is currently leading from his constituency, Seraj with close to 15 thousand votes.Thakur is currently leading the Seraj seat with 14921 votes while the Congress candidate for this seat, Chet Ram is trailing behind by receiving 4351 votes so far.Congress candidate from Shimla Rural and former CM late Virbhadra Singh's son, Vikramaditya Singh leading with a total of 7233 votes.In the state capital, Shimla, Harish Janartha of Congress is currently leading with 3449 votes and BJP's Sanjay Sood is trailing in the constituency with 2565 votes in the recently held assembly elections.