PremiumHimachal Pradesh Assembly elections 2022: The hilly state has begun to vote to elect a new government in the Assembly polls on Saturday (12 November). The HP elections will decide the fate of 412 candidates today. Around 55 lakh voters are set to cast vote in this single phase election in Himachal Pradesh today.
The BJP is eying on retaining power in the state overturning the trend of an alternative government in the state since 1982, while the Congress is posing its faith in its '10 guarantees' that the party has promised to deliver on if it comes to power. The Aam Aadmi Party is also aiming at making inroads into the hill state hoping to present a strong performance in the polls.
In 2017, BJP swept the Himachal polls, bagging 44 of the total 68 seats while Congress managed to get just 21 seats.
Check all the latest updates related to Himachal Pradesh elections on Livemint live blog:
Preparations begin for polling for the Himachal Pradesh state elections, visuals from a booth in Hamirpur.
Blessed with unparalleled scenic beauty, Himachal Pradesh, the state is also home to the world's highest polling station. The Tashigang polling booth is located at a height of 15,256 feet above sea-level, making it the world's highest.
However, despite the treacherous terrain, the Tashigang polling booth had logged 100 per cent polling in the last Lok Sabha elections. 47 registered voters, including 29 men and 18 women, turned up for the Lok Sabha bypoll.
As many as 67 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) comprising 6,700 personnel and 15 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) companies have been deployed for holding free and fair Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh.
Besides this, 50,000 government employees have been put on poll duty. As many as 25,000 police officers are also stationed across the state.
Teams from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) comprising 800 personnel have also been posted.
According to Election Commission, a total 7,881 polling stations has ben set up for today's polls. The Kangra district has maximum 1,625 polling stations while Lahaul-Spiti district has the lowest 92. There are 7,235 polling stations in rural and 646 polling stations in urban areas.
Besides, three auxiliary polling stations will also be set up at Sidhbari (Dharamshala), Bara Bhangal (Baijnath) and Dhillon (Kasauli).
Seraj constituency: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur is contesting again from here. Congress has put up Chetram Thakur who had contested from the seat last time also.
Haroli constituency: Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri is contesting his fifth election from the Haroli assembly segment in the Una district. BJP has pitted state spokesperson Ram Kumar against him.
Nadaun: Former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, seen as a chief ministerial aspirant, is contesting from here. The BJP has fielded Vijay Agnihotri.
Dalhousie constituency: Former Himachal Minister and Congress leader Asha Kumari is contesting from here. She is pitted against BJP's DS Thakur and AAP's Manish Sareen.
Darang: Senior Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur is again fighting from his traditional seat against BJP's Puran Chand Thakur and AAP candidate Sunita Thakur.
Shimla rural: Vikramaditya Singh, son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is recontesting from Shimla rural. BJP has fielded Ravi Mehta from the seat.
Shimla Urban: Congress' Harish Janartha is taking on BJP's 'chaiwala' candidate Sanjay Sood. AAP's Chaman Rakesh Ajta and CPI-M's Tikender Singh Pawar are also in the fray.
Nurpur: BJP has fielded a new candidate Ranveer Singh who is fighting against Ajay Mahajan of Congress and Manishi Kumari from AAP.
Nagrota: Congress candidate RS Bali is fighting against BJP candidate Arun Kumar Mehra and APP candidate Umakant Dogra.
Sulah: Himachal Pradesh speaker Vipin Parmar is fighting against Jagdish Sapheia and AAP candidate Ravinder Singh.
Sujanpur: Congress has again fielded Rajinder Singh Rana who defeated former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in the 2017 elections. BJP has fielded Ranjit Singh from the seat and AAP has fielded Anil Rana.
Bharmaur: BJP's Dr Janak Raj is taking on senior Congress leader Thakur Singh Bharmauri from Bharmaur. AAP has fielded Prakash Chand Bharadwaj.
Jubbal Kotkhai: The Congress has fielded sitting MLA Rohit Thakur. He is fighting against Chetan Singh Bragta of BJP. CPI-M has fielded Vishal Shangta and Shrikant Chauhan is AAP candidate.
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