BJP dethrones Congress in Himachal Pradesh

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 18

The BJP wrested power from the Congress and will form the next government in Himachal Pradesh as it won 44 seats while the ruling party bagged 21 seats and others three. The majority mark in the state was 35. 

In the outgoing House, Congress had 36 seats, and BJP 26.

However, Prem Kumar Dhumal, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in Himachal Pradesh, lost to Congress’s Rajinder Rana in Sujanpur, after he changed his traditional constituency of Hamirpur. He was made the
CM face only nine days before the polling.

Congress veteran and six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh won the Arki constituency.

Himachal Pradesh has a tradition of changing the government in every election.

The BJP ousted the Congress in 1990 and the Congress avenged the defeat in 1993. The BJP formed the government with the help of Himachal Vikas Congress in 1998 and the Congress was back in power in
2003. The BJP made a comeback in 2007.

The CPI(M) won the Theog seat while Dehra in Kangra was won by Independent candidate Hoshyar Singh. 

Senior-most minister Kaul Singh lost the polls from Drang and while his daughter Champa Thakur suffered defeat at the hands of BJP’s Anil Sharma from Mandi.

State BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti lost from Una. BJP candidate Suresh Bharadwaj retained the prestigious Shimla seat while Anirudh Singh of Congress retained Kusumpti seat.

Congress candidate Harshvardhan won from Shillai, wresting the seat from Baldev Singh Tomar of BJP while Govind Thakur of BJP scored the third successive victory from Manali.

However, senior BJP leader Maheshwar Singh failed to retain his Kullu seat.

Also read: Maheshwar, Sudhir, Bharmouri among prominent losers in HP

Total seats 68 (Majority mark 35)

Party	Won
Bharatiya Janata Party	44
Communist Party of India (Marxist)	1
Indian National Congress	21
Independent	2
Total	68

 

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Constituency     Win/Lead 

ANNI (SC)        Kishori Lal (BJP)

ARKI      Virbhadra Singh (Congress)

BAIJNATH (SC)        Mulkh Raj (BJP)

BALH (SC)      Inder Singh Gandhi (BJP)

BANJAR              Surender Shourie (BJP)

BARSAR                      Inder Dutt Lakhanpal (Congress)

BHARMOUR (ST)      Jia Lal (BJP)

BHATTIYAT                  Bikram Singh Jaryal (BJP)     

BHORANJ (SC)           Kamlesh Kumari (BJP) 

BILASPUR                    Subhash Thakur (BJP)

CHAMBA                       Pawan Nayyar (BJP)

CHINTPURNI(SC)       Balbir Singh (BJP)

CHOPAL                        Balbir Singh Verma (BJP)

CHURAH (SC)              Hans Raj (BJP)

DALHOUSIE                  Asha Kumari (Congress)

DARANG                          Jawahar Thakur (BJP)

DEHRA           Hoshyar Singh (Independent)

DHARAMPUR                 Mahender Singh (BJP) 

DHARAMSHALA            Kishan Kapoor (BJP)

DOON           Paramjeet Singh (BJP)

FATEHPUR                       Sujan Singh Pathania (Congress)

GAGRET                  Rajesh Thakur (BJP)

GHUMARWIN                 Rajinder Garg (BJP)

HAROLI                            Mukesh Agnihotri (Congress)

HAMIRPUR                   Narinder Thakur (BJP)

INDORA(SC)                   Reeta Devi (BJP)

JAISINGHPUR(SC)       Ravindra Dhiman (BJP)

JASWAN-PRAGPUR     Bikram Singh (BJP)

JAWALAMUKHI             Ramesh Chand Dhawala (BJP)

JAWALI                           Arjun Singh (BJP)

JHANDUTA(SC)          Jeet Ram Katwal (BJP)

JOGINDERNAGAR     Prakash Rana (Independent)

JUBBAL-KOTKHAI : Narinder Bragta (BJP)

KANGRA                        Pawan Kumar Kajal (Congress)

KARSOG(SC)                    Hira Lal (BJP) 

KASAULI(SC)                    Rajiv Saizal (BJP)

KASUMPTI              Anirudh Singh (Congress)

KINNAUR (ST)                  Jagat Singh Negi (Congress)

KULLU             Sunder Singh Thakur (Congress)

KUTLEHAR                       Virender Kanwar (BJP)

LAHAUL & SPITI (ST)      Ram Lal Markanda (BJP)

MANALI             Govind Singh Thakur (BJP)

MANDI                               Anil Sharma( BJP)

NACHAN (SC)                  Vinod Kumar (BJP) 

NADAUN                           Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Congress)  

NAGROTA                         Arun Kumar (BJP)

NAHAN                              Dr Rajeev Bindal (BJP)

NALAGARH                      Lakhvinder Rana (Congress)

NURPUR                          Rakesh Pathania (BJP)

PACHHAD(SC)               Suresh Kashyap (BJP) 

PALAMPUR                      Ashish Butail (Congress)

PAONTA SAHIB              Sukh Ram (BJP)

RAMPUR (SC)                Nand Lal (Congress) 

ROHRU (SC)                 Mohan Lal Brakta (Congress) 

SARKAGHAT                  Inder Singh (BJP) 

SERAJ                            Jai Ram Thakur (BJP)

SHAHPUR                    Sarveen Choudhary (BJP)

SHILLAI                       Harshwardhan Chauhan (Congress) 

SHIMLA               Suresh Bhardwaj (BJP)

SHIMLA RURAL         Vikramaditya Singh (Congress)  

SOLAN(SC)       Dhani Ram Shandil (Congress)

SRI NAINA DEVIJI          Ram Lal Thakur (Congress)

SRI RENUKAJI(SC)       Vinay Kumar (Congress) 

SUJANPUR                   Rajinder Rana (Congress)

SULLAH                      Vipin Singh Parmar (BJP)

SUNDERNAGAR      Rakesh Kumar (BJP)

THEOG      Rakesh Singha (CPIM) 

UNA                            Satpal Singh Raizada (Congress)

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.

READ

• Defeat in victory: Dhumal, BJP’s CM face in Himachal, loses
• Dhumal, Kaul Singh, Maheshwar, Sudhir, Satti among prominent losers in HP
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• Development agenda won: PM Modi and Amit Shah on BJP victories
• Gujarat, Himachal wins: All credit goes to PM Modi, BJP chief Shah
  
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