- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
While Gujarat saw the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of prime minister Narendra Modi registering a record victory with opposition parties such as the Indian National Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and others facing humiliation, the grand-old party had a reason to smile in the other Indian state that went to the polls this winter — Himachal Pradesh.
In a complete contrast to what was happening in Gujarat, the hilly state witnessed a close fight between the BJP and Congress to begin with which gradually swung in favour of the Congress.
At the time of writing this report, the ruling BJP was leading in 26 out of 68 seats as against the Congress’s 39, which meant the secular outfit was set to return to power after a gap of five years.
For observers, the development was not surprising since the Himalayan state has traditionally voted out the party in power. For nearly four decades, the state has switched between the Congress and the BJP. Many would have thought the death of Virbhadra Singh, one of the tallest leaders of the Congress in the state who passed away last year, could hurt the party’s chances but the results proved that the legacy of Singh, who had served as the chief minister several times, lives on.
However, the Congress was wary of losing its winning candidates to forces and sources in the party told NDTV that it will shift its lawmakers to Chhattisgarh, another Congress ruled state, via Chandigarh so that they could not be lured away.
Some Independent candidates were also leading in Himachal Pradesh and the BJP was reportedly in talks with them. The Independents, including two rebels from the BJP, could be a key factor in deciding who forms the government eventually. Prem Singh Dhumal, a BJP veteran and former chief minister of the state, is expected to have an important role to play in this regard as many Independents are reportedly loyal to the man who chose not to contest in this year’s poll which took place on November 12.
The AAP failed to make any mark in Himachal Pradesh.
The BJP won 44 seats in the state in 2017 as against the Congress’s 21.
A party or alliance needs to win 35 seats in order to form a government in Himachal Pradesh.
