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

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.