Himachal Election Result, Gujarat Election Result: BJP Sets Gujarat Record, Congress Wins In Himachal: 10 Facts

Election Results: Gujarat BJP workers have started celebrations

New Delhi: The BJP raced to its best-ever result in Gujarat, with the AAP cutting into Congress votes. In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress clinched victory - a much-needed relief after several poll routs.

Here are 10 big updates on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh election results

The BJP has won 97 seats and is leading in 59 seats in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. The Congress, which delivered a strong performance in the last election, has won seven seats and is leading in 10 -- far from its tally of 77 in the 2017 polls.
Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, which was eyeing a big entry into the Gujarat political landscape with this election, has won four seats and is ahead in one. Gujarat has 182 seats and the majority mark stands at 92.
In Himachal Pradesh, which has 68 seats, the BJP took an early lead but the Congress overtook it after an hour of counting. The Congress has won 35 seats -- past the halfway mark of 34-- and is leading on four. The BJP has won 18 seats and is ahead on seven. Incumbent Chief Minister Jairam Thakur has accepted defeat and said the BJP will "continue to play a positive role".
The BJP has registered the best-ever poll score in Gujarat Assembly elections. The record was earlier held by the Congress, which won 149 seats in the 1985 state polls. Led by PM Modi, the BJP had campaigned in the western state with all its might and star power. The Prime Minister held over 30 rallies after the elections were announced.
Incumbent Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel posted a massive win in his constituency Ghatlodia in Ahmedabad by a margin of about 1.92 lakh votes. Home Minister Amit Shah has earlier said Mr Patel would return as Chief Minister if the BJP posted another victory in its stronghold.
In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP had been banking on the achievements of PM Modi for a smooth transition to a second term, even though the state diligently swings between the BJP and the Congress every five years.
The message to Himachal Pradesh was of central development, with PM Modi flagging off a Vande Bharat Express ahead of elections and opening a new AIIMS at Bilaspur. In many party hoardings, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur was missing.
AAP practically dropped out of the race in Himachal to focus its energies in Gujarat and Delhi. In Gujarat, Mr Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann held multiple rallies -- neck and neck with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As a counter to the BJP's "Phir ek baar Modi Sarkaar" (Another term or Modi government), it has raised the slogan of "parivartan (change).
Even if AAP does not manage a double-digit tally, its foothold in Gujarat is expected to bring a change in the binary politics of Gujarat and present the BJP with a more persistent and strategic opponent than the Congress. Party leaders have already said that this election marks the beginning of AAP's journey as a national party.
The Congress, focused on its big picture Bharat Jodo Yatra, was seen as putting up a token campaign in Gujarat, where it won 77 seats in 2017, and in Himachal Pradesh, where the trend of the last few decades gives it a bonus point. In Delhi civic polls -- which had more voters than in Himachal Pradesh -- the Congress won only nine seats.