Himachal Pradesh Election Result 2017 LIVE: Lotus to Bloom in the Hills as BJP Doubles Lead Over Congress

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Trends at 9:45 am show BJP leading in 39 seats, while the incumbent Congress' is now ahead in 22. CNN-News18's Bhupendra Chaubey had called Himachal Pradesh for BJP at 9:29 am. The halfway mark in the 68-seat Himachal Pradesh Assembly is 35 seats. In 2012, Congress won 36 seats as compared to BJP's 26 in a closely fought fight.

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CNN-News18 called Himachal Pradesh for the BJP, leading to a Congress defeat.

#ElectionsWithNews18 |Rahul has certainly done better than expected. He is the “winner in defeat”: Ajoy Bose to @bhupendrachaube#LIVE: https://t.co/aL12tcr1Zv pic.twitter.com/LRXl7Sl57f

— News18 (@CNNnews18) December 18, 2017

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Anurag Thakur, BJP leader and son of party’s CM candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal, said, “The law and order situation was an utter failure under the Congress government. If as a voter I look at an alternative, one is Congress in whose reign there were killings and drugs in the state. Hence the other option was BJP under Mr Dhumal. The state is under a debt of Rs 50,000 cr and the BJP government at the Centre will help overcome this (financial crisis).”​

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HIMACHAL | WON | CNN-News18's Bhupendra Chaubey calls Himachal Pradesh for BJP at 9:29 am. The traditionally anti-incumbent state has stayed true to its expectations. Prem Kumar Dhumal was declared the chief ministerial face of the BJP and he will be taking over from Congress' Virbhadra Singh. The current trends show BJP leading at 36 seats and Congress leading in 19 seats. The halfway mark in the 68-seat Himachal Pradesh Assembly is 35 seats. In 2012, Congress won 36 seats as compared to BJP's 26 in a closely fought fight.​

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COUNTING UPDATE | CNN-News18 has called Himachal Pradesh for the BJP which is leading in 35 seats, the majority mark in the 68-seat Assembly. The Congress is on its way to lose the state, leading in 19 seats.

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BJP is leading in 34 seats to Congress's 19 in the hill state. Adequate security arrangements have been made for counting which started simultaneously in all 68 constituencies at 42 counting centres.

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MARKET WATCH | Expecting instability in view of the close contest in early Gujarat trends, bulls withdraw from market. Sensex down 860 points, while the Rupee, too, has tumbled 68 paise to 64.72 against the dollar.

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Trends at 9:15 am suggest that the BJP is ahead in 24 seats, while the incumbent Congress is leading in 16. The halfway mark in the 68-seat Himachal Pradesh Assembly is 35 seats. In 2012, Congress won 36 seats as compared to BJP's 26 in a closely fought fight.

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Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is leading in his seat. Corruption was the main focus of the BJP campaign with the party training its guns at Chief Minister Singh, while the Congress hit out at the BJP over the issue of GST and demonetisation.

#ElectionsWithNews18 -- @virbhadrasingh leads in Himachal Pradesh

LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/eK2lwbOEek pic.twitter.com/31KDPwv6rN

— News18 (@CNNnews18) December 18, 2017

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In the Himachal Pradesh elections, BJP's state chief Satpal Singh is trailing behind Congress candidate Satpal Singh Raizada in the Una constituency.

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COUNTING UPDATE | In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP is leading in 16 seats and the Congress in eight seats. The majority mark in the 68-member Himachal Assembly is 35 seats. In the 2012 elections, the Congress had bagged 36 seats, while the BJP had managed 26 seats. 

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Trends at 8:55 am show the BJP leading in 12 seats, while the incumbent Congress' is now ahead in 5. The halfway mark in the 68-seat Himachal Pradesh Assembly is 35 seats. In 2012, Congress won 36 seats as compared to BJP's 26 in a closely fought fight.

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Speaking about the elections in Himachal Pradesh, Swapan Dasgupta, says that unlike the last elections, BJP stands more united this time. The party's CM candidate has been announced and it is settled .

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Corruption was the main focus of the BJP campaign with the party training its guns at Chief Minister Singh, while the Congress attacked at the BJP over the issue of GST and demonetisation.​

#ElectionsWithNews18 -- BJP leads in Himachal Pradesh

LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/g1JLjqz1Ai pic.twitter.com/tBbUUSrGEj

— News18 (@CNNnews18) December 18, 2017

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 The BJP ousted the Congress in 1990 and the Congress avenged 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.

Counting of postal ballots underway; visuals from a counting center in #Shimla's Kasumpti #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/jkFIi3Gtmq

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

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BJP is leading the Congress by 11-2 in Himachal Pradesh.

While the BJP is confident of winning the polls with a comfortable majority, the Congress has rejected the exit-polls and claimed that it was all set to repeat its previous victory.

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2,820 counting staff has been deployed for today’s exercise which includes counting supervisors, counting assistants and micro observers.​

EVMs opened at a counting centre in Shimla's Kasumpati as counting of votes continues #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/rsid3L2xgd

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

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Swapan Dasgupta: Minister from the Finance Ministry told me there is zero revenue from Khakra. Khakra economics is just symbolism.

MARKET WATCH | Dalal Street is also keenly watching the Gujarat election result 2017 and Himachal Pradesh election result 2017. Markets are scheduled to open in a short while from now and if their reaction to exit polls is any indication, they are likely to open in the green.

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The trends in Gujarat election result 2017 and Himachal Pradesh election result 2017 are likely to change as counting progresses since postal ballots are being counted first. The votes polled through EVMs will be counted later.

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BJP continues to lead in Himachal Pradesh, with 7 seats to Congress's 2

#ElectionsWithNews18 -- BJP takes 7-2 lead in Himachal Pradesh

LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/VjzsLES2Tl

— News18 (@CNNnews18) December 18, 2017

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Himachal Pradesh has a tradition of change in government after every elections and going by the trend, this time it is the turn of the BJP which is upbeat after exit poll results. There are 25 Congress, 28 BJP and four independent MLAs in the outgoing house while one seat was lying vacant after death of former minister Karan Singh from Banjar. Sitting Rajya Sabha member Viplov Thakur(Congress), former Lok Sabha members, Chander Kumar(Congress and Dr Rajan Shushant (Independent) and former Rajya Sabha member Kripal Parmar(BJP) are also among key contestants.​

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Trends are yet to come in for the rest of the seats. The majority mark in the 68-member Assembly is 35 seats. In the 2012 elections, the Congress had bagged 36 seats, while the BJP had managed 26 seats. 

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The BSP contested 42 seats followed by the CPI(M) 14, the Swabhiman party and the Lok Gathbandhan Party six each and the CPI-3. Out of 67 sitting MLAs, 60 MLAS, nine cabinet ministers, HPCC president Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu, state BJP chief, Satpal Singh Satti, Deputy Speaker, Jagat Singh Negi and eight Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS) contested the poll along with a dozen former ministers.​

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The hill state witnessed a record 75.28 per cent turnout. Adequate security arrangements have been made for counting which started simultaneously in all 68 constituencies at 42 counting centres. Corruption was the main focus of the BJP campaign with the party training its guns at Chief Minister Singh, while the Congress hit out at the BJP over the issue of GST and demonetisation.​

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"I assure you that there can be no tampering with the EVMs" says Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AK Joti

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BJP has taken the lead in Himachal Pradesh

#ElectionsWithNews18 -- BJP leads in Himachal

LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/VjzsLES2Tl pic.twitter.com/NokTcgVUmT

— News18 (@CNNnews18) December 18, 2017

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Counting of votes are underway for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections where traditional rivals BJP and Congress have contested all 68 seats. The fate of 337 candidates including Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his predecessor Prem Kumar Dhumal will be known by the end of counting.​

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Congress is leading with one seat in Himachal Pradesh. 

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BJP is leading in Anjar and Kutch, Gujarat 

#ElectionsWithNews18 -- BJP leads in Anjar and Kutch, Gujarat

LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/cCAMFE7EO9

— News18 (@CNNnews18) December 18, 2017