BJP wins all four constituencies in Himachal Pradesh

The film industry actor, Kangana Ranaut in her political debut bags another win for BJP securing Mandi Lok Sabha constituency seat against Congress' Vikramaditya Singh.

Trends at 2:40 PM: BJP leading in Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, Shimla constituencies in Himachal Pradesh. Rajeev Bharadwaj is leading with 2,47,343 margin, Kangana Ranaut's leading margin is 71,663, Anurag Singh Thakur leading with a margin of 1,77,475 votes, and Suresh Kumar Kashyap is up by 90,548 votes, according to the data by Election Commission of India.

Trends at 1:30 PM: BJP maintains its pole position in Himachal Pradesh.

Trends at 12:35 PM: Himachal Pradesh is painted saffron since the counting has begun and BJP is sweeping votes in all 4 constituencies till 12:35 PM. The political inclination of Himachal Pradesh transitioned from Congress to BJP in the last two Lok Sabha elections, and 2024 election results so far seem to be continuing the same trend.

Trends at 11:40 AM: Congress trailing in Himachal Pradesh. As per the Election Commission of India data at 11:40 AM BJP's candidates Anurag Thakur is leading with 1,04,452 vote margin against Congress' Satpal Raizada in Hamirpur. Rajeev Bhardwaj is leading with a margin of 1,74,081 votes against Congress candidate Anand Sharma in Kangra constituency. In Mandi Kangana Ranaut is leading with 42,851 votes. BJP's Suresh Kumar Kashyap is leading with a margin of 55,600 votes in Shimla.

Trends at 10 AM: BJP is still ahead in all 4 seats in the state.

Trends at 9 AM: The BJP is leading in 4 of 4 Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh according to trends at 9 AM.

In the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency Kangana Ranaut is leading; in Kangra constituency Rajeev Bharadwaj; in Hamirpur Anurag Singh Thakur and in Shimla Suresh Kumar Kashyap. This story will be updated as more trends come in.

The hilly state is witnessing prominent leaders including Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports Anurag Thakur, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma and actor Kangana Ranaut from BJP is contesting against Congress’ Vikramaditya Singh, son of the former chief minister of Himachal Pradesh Late Virbhadra Singh.

Voting for the seventh and last of Lok Sabha elections took place on June 1 including Himachal Pradesh across all four Lok Sabha seats - Shimla, Mandi, Kangra and Hamirpur.

In 2019…

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept all four seats and emerged victorious against the Indian National Congress (INC).

In Kangra, BJP candidate Kishan Kapoor secured victory with a margin of over 4.77 lakh votes against the Congress candidate Pawan Kajal. The voter turnout for the Kangra constituency stood at 69.45%.

Shimla reinstated BJP in the constituency with the victory of Suresh Kumar Kashyap’, the state party president. Kashyap won by margin of over 3.27 lakh votes defeating Congress’ Dhani Ram Shandil. Shimla Lok Sabha constituency is reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. The BJP has a stronghold in Shimla since 2009.

BJP's Anurag Singh Thakur solidified his position for the third consecutive time in Hamirpur garnering 6,82,692 votes, while Congress's Ram Lal Thakur, received 2,83,120 votes. Thakur was elected for the first time in 2008 bypoll following his father Prem Kumar Dhumal's resignation after taking over as chief minister of Himachal Pradesh. He has won three elections in a row in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

BJP's Ram Swaroop Sharma dominated the Mandi parliamentary constituency with 647,189 votes. Aashray Sharma, senior Congress leader trailed behind with 241,730 votes, while CPI(M)'s Dilip Singh Kayath received 14,838 votes.

However, in the 2022 state assembly elections Congress won a majority by securing 40 of 69 seats.

(This story will be updated with the latest trends)