Himachal Pradesh Election Results 2017 Final Tally: Dislike BJP, but don't derail 'vikas', says PM Modi

22:49 Read more: Himachal Pradesh Election Constituency-wise Results 2017

21:22 Read more: Gujarat, Himachal Election Results – Here are the best political pictures of the day

21:08 BJP has won 43 seats in Himachal and is leading in 1 seat while Congress has won 19 seats and is leading in 2 seats.

20:41 Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi today said party's victory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh vindicated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's big policy decisions of demonetisation and
GST.

The poll outcome is also a big slap on those who mocked demonetisation and GST by terming the latter as "Gabbar Singh Tax", he said alluding to Congress newly appointed President Rahul Gandhi comment.

20:39 BJP has won 38 seats in Himachal and is leading in 6 seats while Congress has won 19 seats and is leading in 2 seats, as per reports.

20:15 BJP’s impressive victory in Himachal Pradesh indicates that people of the state rejected misgovernance of the Congress government and wants a Government that is not corrupt and can deliver. BJP will provide good and honest governance to Devbhoomi Himachal, PM Modi tweeted today.

20:09 Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Tomar will be heading to Himachal Pradesh to discuss about the leadership there, JP Nadda told ANI.

19:49 EVMs cannot be manipulated in any way, Pushpendra Rajput, Chief Electoral Officer of Himachal Pradesh said.

"I want to urge everyone to ignore rumours on this matter. The election conducted through EVMs & VVPAT are completely unbiased," he told ANI.

19:27 According to latest trends, BJP has won 31 seats and is leading in 12 seats. Congress has won 17 seats and is leading in 4 seats.

19:24 BJP in Kerala today hailed the party's victory in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls and said it clearly indicated that the country was moving towards 'Congress mukt (Congress free) Bharat'.

"The BJP's victory is also the defeat of the Congress party's strategy to win the polls through caste and narrow minded politics", BJP State President Kummanon Rajasekharan said.

19:14 Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah for winning the Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today said there was no alternative to the party in the country.

Raje said it was the victory of Modi's leadership and Shah's organisational skills.

19:01 Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said that the people of Gujarat have given their approval once again to development works and policies carried under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He congratulated the voters of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for giving verdict in favour of the party. Das also congratulated the Prime Minister and BJP President Amit Shah for the big wins.

18:51 After 2014, there is hunger for development. Even if you do not like BJP, do not try to derail the progress being made towards development: PM Modi.

18:42 The nation has rallied in support of GST and demonetisation, he said. The aspirations of middle class are rising and the government has to fulfill them.

18:40 Common man of India is progressive and wants progressive policies. Era of 'Jaisa Hai, Chalega' is gone. Himachal results prove that if you don't focus on development and are indulging in corruption that people reject you after 5 years, Modi said.

18:39 Recent elections results have proven that the country is ready for reform, is looking towards things that perform in a positive way and believes in transformation, Modi said at BJP headquarter in Delhi.

18:35 Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat for choosing the path of progress by voting for BJP.

18:30 Himachal Pradesh Election Constituency-wise Results 2017 Live here.

18:18 PM Modi arrives at party headquarter in Delhi.

18:17 With the BJP set to wrest power from the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, party leader Anurag Thakur today said the people of the state wanted change because of a bad law-and-order situation and "misgovernance".

Thakur said that the announcement of Prem Kumar Dhumal as the BJP's chief ministerial candidate ahead of the election also helped the voters turn in favour of the saffron party.

However, Dhumal was defeated from the Sujanpur Assembly seat.

"People wanted a change in Himachal Pradesh because the law-and-order situation was bad and also, there was misgovernance. The Congress was involved in corruption," he alleged.

18:09 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to arrive at BJP's Delhi headquarters soon.

18:03 "We are sad about Prem Kumar Dhumal losing but we are happy that people of Himachal Pradesh voted for BJP," says Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

17:52 BJP's chief ministerial face for the Himachal Pradesh polls, Prem Kumar Dhumal, was defeated today from the Sujanpur Assembly seat even as his party appeared set to form the government in the hill state.

The former chief minister lost to his Congress rival Rajinder Singh Rana by about 3,500 votes.

Dhumal accepted his defeat and said that the result was unexpected and the party would do introspection. He congratulated the winners and party workers for the spectacular victory in the state polls.

Meanwhile, Varinder Kanwar, who won from Kutlehar in Una district, offered to vacate his seat for Dhumal.

17:28 Read more — Himachal Pradesh Election Results 2017: Congress on verge of big defeat; here's how key candidates performed

17:23 Prem Kumar Dhumal's defeat in Sujanpur constituency reflects people's confidence in Congress, Rajinder Rana, Congress candidate who won in Sujanpur said.

17:17 Rahul Gandhi scored "zero in his opening innings" was how Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar reacted to the comfortable lead of the BJP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly election results.

17:11 In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP won 17 seats and was ahead in 27 seats while the ruling Congress won 10 and was ahead in 11 in the 68-member house. A majority will come with 35 seats. In the outgoing house, Congress had 36 seats, and BJP 26.

17:02 Congress leader Virbhadra Singh told media that the party accepts BJP's victory.  "I, being the CM, take full responsibility of our performance here. I hope Vikramaditya (Singh) keeps winning in future, like he won today,” he said.

16:51 BJP's candidate for Himachal Prem Kumar Dhumal said that he was not expecting the loss, but that personal loss is not of much importance.

"The gain that victory has brought to state BJP is important. Thankful to people of the state for voting for BJP. In politics, sometimes one wins, sometimes one loses," Dhumal said.

16:42 Ashok Gehlot of Congress said that whatever the result of elections, it was a moral win for Congress. Taking a dig at BJP, he said that the party in its home state of Gujarat are struggling to cross even 100.

16:39 Congress President Rahul Gandhi congratulated BJP and said that the party has accepted the verdict of people.

"My Congress brothers and sisters, you have made me very proud. You are different than those you fought because you fought anger with dignity. You have demonstrated to everyone that the Congress’s greatest strength is its decency and courage," he tweeted.

16:20 Shah is confident that people will continue to support PM Modi and BJP as the party goes into 2019 general elections under the Modi's leadership. He also said that Modi's aim for the youth in 2022 will become a reality.

16:15 Thanking people of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, BJP chief Amit Shah said that the party will form government in both states.

In Himachal Pradesh, BJP has increased its vote share by 10 percent since 2012 and the party will form government with two-third majority, Shah said.

16:13 Ashok Gehlot, the Congress' in-charge for Gujarat, while addressing the media said that the party fought unitedly and claims the BJP used diversionary tactics to win the election.

The campaign under the leadership of Congress President Rahul Gandhi has led to a moral victory for our party in Gujarat, Gehlot said.

15:57 Congress government did good work in Himachal, but have been defeated, outgoing chief minister Virbhadra Singh told CNN-News18.

15:52 The BJP is all set to wrest power from the Congress in Himachal Pradesh as it won 8 seats and was leading in 37 others while the ruling party bagged four seats and was leading in 15. The CPI(M) won the Theog seat while Independents are leading in three seats.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is leading from Arki while his son Vikramaditya Singh won from Shimla(Rural). Prem Kumar Dhumal, BJP's chief ministerial candidate in Himachal Pradesh, was trailing behind Congress's Rajinder Rana in Sujanpur.

15:36 Prime Minister Narendra Modi said election results in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh indicate a strong support for politics of good governance and development.

"I salute the hardworking BJP Karyakartas in these states for their hardwork which has led to these impressive victories," he tweeted.

"I bow to the people of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for their affection and trust in BJP. I assure them that we will leave no stone unturned in furthering the development journey of these states and serve the people tirelessly," he said.

15:28 BJP President Amit Shah arrives at the party headquarter to celebrate party's lead in Gujarat and Himachal.

Shah also tweeted to thank the people of Himachal Pradesh for choosing BJP and Modi.

15:24 Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Coal, congratulates PM Modi and Amit Shah on Himachal win.

"Congratulations to the people of Himachal Pradesh on choosing PM @NarendraModi's vision of development. Thanks to the Karyakartas of @BJP4Himachal on the iconic victory under the leadership of Shri @AmitShah," he tweeted.

15:14 BJP's Paramjeet Singh wins from Doon by over 4,300 votes. Himachal Pradesh's chief minister Virbhadra Singh has won from the Arki constituency.

15:10 BJP MLA Virendra Kanwar, elected from Kutlehar constituency, said that he will give up his seat for the party's chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal who is trailing in Sujanpur, reports The Indian Express.

Dhumal is trailing by over 3,000 votes.

14:56 Rohit Thakur of Congress wins from Jubbal-Kotkhai seat.

14:53 MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy congratulates BJP on the Himachal win.

"Extremely thankful to the people #HimachalPradesh for electing @BJP4Himachal People have given their mandate for PM @narendramodi's welfare development policies and leadership of Sh @AmitShah Congratulations to all @BJP4India karyakartas on this great victory," he tweeted.

14:43 As the BJP today headed for its sixth straight term in Gujarat and wresting Himachal Pradesh from the Congress, its leaders described the poll outcome as a vote for development and trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Jo jeeta wohi Sikandar (whoever wins is king). This is the message to those who joked about vikas (development)," said Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Union minister Smriti Irani seconded him and said the victory was dedicated to booth-level party workers and those who voted for "good governance" and "development".

14:33 According to latest Election Commission trends, BJP is leading at 43, Congress at 21. CPI-M is at 1 and independent at 1.

14:26 BJP's Anil Sharma has won from the Mandi seat while Satpal Singh Raizada and Vikramaditya Singh of Congress have won from Una and Shimla rural respectively.

14:25 Congress supporters are protesting outside the AICC headquarters, alleging that BJP won elections due to EVM hampering.

14:17 Read more — Budget 2018: Gujarat election scare will force BJP to present a populist Budget

14:06 Former Chief Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy said that electronic voting machines (EVMs) are the "real winner" in Gujarat and
Himachal Pradesh elections and their "bashing" should stop now.

When asked over the remarks in some quarters that the EVMs are the "real winner", as results of the two Assembly elections are being declared, he said, "I agree."

"They (EVMs) have done their job well. After all, the Congress has increased its position (in Gujarat compared to the last elections). Some leaders of the BJP have been defeated. EVMs have served the purpose", Krishnamurthy told PTI.

14:01 BJP's Pawan Nayyar wins from Chamba constituency by over 5,786 votes.

13:58 Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also congratulated BJP.

"Undoubtedly, a major victory. The kind of work which Party workers have done right from booth workers level till PM's level, everybody put their best foot forward and both #Gujarat & #HimachalPradesh have recognised the good work going on in the name of development," she told ANI.

13:51 BJP wins three more seats; takes total tally to seven. Congress wins another three seats. 

BJP candidates Anil Sharma (Mandi), Dr Ram Lal Markanda (Lahaul and Spiti) and Narinder Bragta from Jubbal Kothkai have won.

On the other hand, Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Kajal has won from
Kangra and Harshwardhan Chauhan has won from Shillai. Another candidate, Mohan Lal Brakta won from Rohru.

13:45 BJP candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal is trailing by over 3,000 votes in Sujanpur constituency after 10 rounds of counting. If Dhumal loses, BJP will need to pick another face in Himachal Pradesh.

13:43 Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, congratulates BJP and BJP President Amit Shah for victories in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

13:35 Read more — Saffron splashed across 19 states: A look at how the BJP has evolved in three years

13:28 BJP MP Poonam Mahajan takes to Twitter to thank people of Himachal Pradesh for choosing BJP.

"Congratulations to Shri @narendramodi ji, @AmitShah ji, Team @BJP4Himachal & all the karyakartas on this resounding victory," she tweeted.

13:23 While many are saying that BJP won because of EVM tampering, the former Election Commission chief, HS Brahma, believes that the EVMs and VVPATs cannot be tampered with.

EVM is a standalone machine, question of hacking doesn't arise, he said.

13:13 BJP's CM candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal is trailing by 2766 votes in the Sujanpur constituency. According to a report by the Indian Express, BJP workers had started celebrating at Dhumal's residence after hearing that he was leading by 4,400 votes.

The eighth round of counting is underway.

13:07 Congress President Rahul Gandhi reaches Parliament.

12:52 Gujarat results indicate people not happy with BJP: Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena today said the people were not happy with the BJP in Gujarat, going by the trends of the Assembly election counting, reports PTI.

The BJP appeared to be on its way to retain power in the state, with trends from 182 seats giving it a lead in 103 while the Congress followed with 72. The simple majority mark in the 182-member Assembly is 92.

BJP's Babubhai Bokhiriya won Porbandar Assembly seat, defeating Congress' Arjun Modhvadia by a margin of 1,855 votes.

"We (the BJP) came to power in the country by citing the much-touted 'Gujarat model' (of development). If people in Gujarat are not happy (with the BJP) today, then understand their psyche, understand what people in the country feel," Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.

12:09 CM Virbhadra Singh is now leading by 3611 votes

11:43 Modi became PM because people like him. People against him need to rethink now. People of Gujarat trust BJP, said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad

11:10 "Results are according to our expectations. We are heading towards clear majority. We will form government in both the states, in Himachal and Gujarat, with clear majority. This victory will be attributed to charisma of Modi," BJP leader Rajnath Singh told CNN-News18

10:54 PM Modi shows victory sign outside the Parliament

10:39 The Congress and the BJP had 36 and 26 seats, respectively, in the outgoing House. Himachal Pradesh has a tradition of change in government after every elections

10:30 Congress veteran and six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his son Vikramaditya Singh are leading from Arki and Shimla(Rural) respectively, according to early trends available for 60 of the 68 seats.

10:22 BJP CM candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal is trailing from Sujanpur. He is a former Chief Minister of the state

10:20 Trends at 10:20 am show BJP at 40 and Congress at 24

10:03 CNN-News18 has called the election in the BJP's favour in Gujarat as well with trends showing the BJP crossing the majority mark of 92

10:00 Trends at 10:00 am show BJP winning 39 seats while incumbent Congress catching up with 24 seats

09:38 The BJP is ahead with 38 seats in trends so far, crossing the halfway mark of 35

09:30 BJP is leading with 35 seats vs 19 for Congress as per early trends at 09:30 am

09:14 BJP and Congress have been in alternating power in the state since 1990. The polling was held on November 9, and saw a voter turnout of about 75 percent.

09:00 Trends at 09:00 am show BJP is leading in 16 seats, while the incumbent Congress is still only at 6

08:48 ANI has posted photos from Himachal

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

For full coverage of the Assembly election results, click here.

08:41 The BJP has opened up a gap. The opposition party now leads by 10 seats to three for the Congress.

08:33 REMINDER: To get a majority in Himachal Pradesh, a party needs to get 35 seats in the 68-member house.

08:25 For updates on the Gujarat results, click here.

08:22 "I assure you that there can be no tampering with the EVMs" says Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AK Joti amid claims of tampering.

08:19 It's now 2-1 to the BJP. Still early days.

08:17 The Congress has taken the first lead in the hill state.

08:15 "I am confident that 'mission repeat' would be achieved and tall claims made by the BJP would be proved wrong," says Virbhadra Singh.

08:10 As is with many an election in India, th election result is by no means a foregone conclusion and exit polls can easily be proven wrong. In fact, some of BJP’s own allies expressed disagreement with the exit polls, saying the BJP is by no means guaranteed a win when the counting of votes takes place on Monday. Members of the Congress have also made it quite clear that they do not buy the picture exit polls are painting and that the party will surprise everyone with the results.

08:05 We'll bring you some early trends soon. Till then, take a look at some of the memorable quotes during the campaign.

08:00 Counting is officially underway. Expect early trends in the next half an hour, while we should have a clear picture by 10am.

07:52 In Himachal, power traditionally changes hands after every elections and going by the trend, this time it is the turn of the BJP which is upbeat after exit poll results.

07:45 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.

07:40 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.

07:30 What do these results hold in store for the markets? With the exit polls predicting a comfortable victory for the BJP with a single-party majority, the market will only be excited if the results are better than expected. Here are 4 stocks to buy on declines.

07:20 All the exit polls predict a clear BJP majority in both Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.  In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP is expected to wrest power from the Congress with a massive majority. In Gujarat, the BJP is projected to win around 110 seats on average, just short of the 115 seats out of 182 it won in 2012.

07:10 Meanwhile, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal, who has also been CM of Himachal Pradesh in the past, was highly optimistic about his chances to get back to his former role.

Speaking to the media from his residence in Samirpur, Dhumal said that the Congress’ tall claims were a result of the party’s disappointment with the exit polls. “In fact, the BJP would win more seats than predicted in the exit polls,” the former CM said.

06:55 Having contested the election from Arki instead of his former Shimla Rural seat, Singh returned to Shimla after a hiatus of two weeks. He said he could sense the mood of the people and that the actual results of the election would be quite different from the exit poll predictions.

"I am confident that 'mission repeat' would be achieved and tall claims made by the BJP would be proved wrong," the CM said.

06:45 Although exit polls have predicted a massive victory for the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, sitting Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has gone on record to dismiss the findings of these polls.

Depending on which exit poll you go by, the BJP is expected to win between 38 and 55 seats in the state’s 68-member assembly.

06:30 Welcome to the live coverage of the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. We will bring you updates from the state on a real-time basis and keep you abreast of the vote count as it proceeds.