Himachal Pradesh Election Results 2022: Former Congress state chief Kuldeep Rathore wins Theog

Former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Kuldeep Rathore won from Theog assembly seat in Shimla district on Thursday, defeating the BJP's Ajay Shyam by 5,269 votes, according to the Election Commission.

The stakes were high for Rathore, who was contesting for the first time.

It was during his tenure as the state Congress chief that the party won by-elections to the Mandi Lok Sabha seat and three assembly seats last year.

Sitting MLA and lone CPI(M) candidate Rakesh Singh and Independents Indu Verma and Vijaypal Khachi were also in the fray.

Increasing production cost of apples, 100 per cent import duty on the fruit and 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on cartons were the major issues in Theog constituency, considered the epicentre of the apple agitation in Shimla district.

Provision of basic amenities and restoration of the old pension scheme were some of the other issues at the centre of the political discourse.

In the 2017 Himachal Pradesh assembly polls, Rakesh Singh of the CPI(M) had defeated the BJP's Rakesh Verma by a margin of 1,983 votes.

In 2012, veteran Congress leader Vidya Stokes had defeated Verma by 4,276 votes.

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022 

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said he respects the mandate of the people.

"I respect the mandate. In a short while, I am going to hand over my resignation to the governor," Thakur told reporters here.

The BJP and the Congress contested on all 68 constituencies, while the AAP fielded candidates on 67 seats, the Bahujan Samaj Party on 53 and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on 11 seats.

In 2017, the BJP won 44 seats, the Congress 21 and the CPIM gained one. Two Independent candidates, too, had won.
 

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022 - Who won and who lost? 

- Former Union minister Sukh Ram's son Anil Sharma of the BJP retained his Mandi Sadar seat defeating his rival from the Congress.

- Congress leader Mukesh Agnihotri, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, was leading from Haroli, while former state Congress chief Kuldeep Rathore (Theog), former minister Sudhir Sharma (Dharamshala) and Dhani Ram Shandil (Solan) are ahead of their rivals.

- Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra and K L Thakur from Nalagarh are among the three Independents who won.

- Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh's son and sitting Congress MLA from Shimla (Rural) Vikramaditya Singh retained his seat by defeating his nearest rival Ravi Kumar Mehta of the BJP by 13,860 votes.

- Senior Congress leader and sitting MLA Asha Kumari was trailing from Dalhousie while Congress' Kaul Singh was trailing from Darang.

Inputs from PTI

Three Independents also emerged victorious. The Aam Aadmi Party failed to open its account. Himachal Pradesh has not voted any incumbent government to power since 1985.

In the 68-member Assembly, Congress needs 35 for a majority. Chief Minister Thakur was leading over his nearest Congress rival from the former's Seraj seat in Mandi district.

However, many of his ministers including Suresh Bhardwaj, Ram Lal Markanda and Surveen Chaudhary lost the election.

 

Himachal Pradesh Election Updates: Congress heading to victory

The Congress on Thursday appeared headed for a victory in Himachal Pradesh as it surged ahead of the ruling BJP, winning or leading in 39 of 68 assembly seats at the time of filing this report. In the latest results and trends available, the Congress won 26 seats and was leading in 13, while the ruling BJP had registered a win on 14 seats and was leading in 12 others.
 

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election - Latest Update 

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2022

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2022 - Story so far

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2022 - Story so far

Cong veteran Dhani Ram Shandil leading over BJP's Rajesh Kashyap

Veteran Congress leader Dhani Ram Shandil was leading over his nearest BJP rival and son-in-law Rajesh Kashyap from Solan assembly constituency in Himachal Pradesh.

Eighty-two-year-old retired army colonel Shandil, the oldest candidate in the fray, was leading by 1,371 votes over Kashyap, according to early trends given by the Election Commission.

Four candidates, including one from the Aam Aadmi Party, had contested from Solan.

Counting of votes for the 68-member assembly began at 8 am and the ruling BJP is hoping to retain power.

In the 2017 assembly elections, Shandil could barely hold on to his seat as he won by a narrow margin of 671 votes against Kashyap, who had then contested from Solan for the first time.

Shandil has also been an MP from Shimla earlier.

The fact that all parties treated Solan as a prestigious seat could be gauged from the fact that ahead of the November 12 polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed their party rallies in the constituency, while AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal took out a road show.

Kashyap had raised sewerage and parking problem as poll issues while Shandil had claimed that the previous Congress government undertook equitable development across the state.

Solan district is home to Himachal's industrial corridor of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh.

The assembly constituency has two parts--urban and rural, and is famous for its mushrooms.

BJP wins 1 seat, ahead on 26; Cong takes lead on 38

Opposition Congress has taken a lead on 38 seats while the ruling BJP won one seat and was ahead on 26 in Himachal Pradesh where counting of votes was in progress on Thursday.

Independent candidates were ahead on three assembly seats, according to the Election Commission.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had fielded candidates on 67 seats, is yet to open its account.

The result of one seat of Sundernagar in Mandi district has been declared where BJP's Rakesh Jamwal, who is the sitting MLA, has defeated his nearest Congress rival by a margin of 8,125 votes. PTI

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2022

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2022

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2022

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2022