Gujarat, Himachal Election Results 2022 Live Updates: Poll results show all sections supporting BJP, says PM Modi

he erstwhile royals of Himachal Pradesh who once commanded their own space in politics are losing their charm as only two of them have won in the hill state this time while two others lost at the hustings. Former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh, who belongs to Rampur Bushahr's erstwhile royal family, won with a big margin of 13,860 votes from Shimla rural, while Anirudh Singh of the erstwhile royal family of Koti, won from Kasumpti assembly seat.

In a break from the past, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday made a clean sweep in Kutch district bordering Pakistan by winning all the six Assembly constituencies in the region. The Congress, which carried out a silent campaign in rural areas, failed to retain even the two seats it had won last time. The debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) failed to win seats, but caused enough damage to the Congress, even leading to its defeat in its stronghold Rapar.

The Congress will heave a sigh of relief as it ends 2022 with a win in Himachal Pradesh under its belt. The grand old party has won 40 out of 68 seats in the state with a vote share of almost 44%. For the party's new president Mallikarjun Kharge, it's a mixed electoral debut. The Himachal verdict comes as a face-saver for him amid humiliating losses in Gujarat and MCD elections.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said the party is not discouraged by its poor show in the Gujarat assembly polls, and vowed to work to strengthen the outfit in the western State. Contesting the Assembly elections in Gujarat for the first time, AIMIM had fielded candidates in 13 seats but drew a blank till the latest reports came in. Despite the results not going its way, the AIMIM is not discouraged, Owaisi said in a video posted by the party on its official twitter account. He thanked the voters who voted for the party and also said the party respects the people's decision.

"We fully respect the mandate given to the BJP in Himachal Pradesh. New dimensions of development were established in Himachal Pradesh under the leadership of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and we hope that the new Congress government will also be dedicated to the development of Himachal," he said. "Whatever may be the result, we will always remain in the role of a servant in the service of the state with full solidarity as before and will stand for the interests of the state," he said.

In a major setback to the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, eight ministers lost the assembly elections, results of which were declared on Thursday. The defeated leaders included Suresh Bhardwaj and Rakesh Pathania whose constituencies were changed from Shimla Urban and Nurpur to Kasumpti and Fatehpur respectively on the eve of the assembly polls and the outsider tag haunted them. The outgoing BJP government had 12 cabinet ministers, including chief minister Jai Ram Thakur.

The Congress has convened a meeting of all its newly-elected MLAs in Himachal Pradesh in Shimla on Friday and the meet is likely to pass a resolution authorising the Congress president to elect the CLP leader. Earlier, the party had called all its MLAs to Chandigarh but changed its plans later after the party got a clear majority in the assembly elections on Thursday. AICC in-charge of Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla said the Congress was happy that it is getting an opportunity to form the government in the state and asserted that the party will do everything to fulfill the 10 guarantees made to the people of the state and would provide better governance to people.

The Congress has convened a meeting of all its newly-elected MLAs in Himachal Pradesh in Shimla on Friday and the meet is likely to pass a resolution authorising the Congress president to elect the CLP leader. Earlier, the party had called all its MLAs to Chandigarh but changed its plans later after the party got a clear majority in the assembly elections on Thursday. AICC in-charge of Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla said the Congress was happy that it is getting an opportunity to form the government in the state and asserted that the party will do everything to fulfill the 10 guarantees made to the people of the state and would provide better governance to people.

It was a complete decimation by BJP in Gujarat and a buoyant performance by Congress in Himachal Pradesh as the results for the two states were declared on Thursday. The BJP won 156 out of 182 seats in Gujarat, posting not just its own personal best but surpassing Congress's previous record of 149 seats in 1985. In Himachal, the Congress edged past the BJP and won the state by a comfortable margin, securing 40 out of the 68 seats.