BJP Eyeing New Record In Gujarat, Congress Aims To Win Himachal

New Delhi:

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eyeing a record seventh straight term in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat and also hoping to buck the nearly four decades of anti-incumbency trend in Himachal Pradesh.

For the Congress, its role as the main challenger to the BJP is at stake in Gujarat where the party carried a “silent campaign”. Meanwhile, the poll outcome in Himachal Pradesh will decide the revival of the grand old party, which now holds power only in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, both of which will go to polls in 2023.

The election result will determine if the Aam Aadmi Party, or AAP, which launched an aggressive campaign to make it a three-cornered contest for the first time in Gujarat, will be able to establish itself as a challenger to the BJP at the national level also.

Along with the two states, the results of the votes polled in by-elections in six assembly constituencies in five states and the high-profile Lok Sabha seat of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav will be also counted.

The counting process will begin at 8 am with postal ballots to be taken up first.

Here are the LIVE UPDATES on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh election results:

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Himachal Pradesh election results: 68 counting halls, 10,000 election duty staff in Himachal

There will be 68 counting halls in 59 locations in Himachal Pradesh.

Around 10,000 duty staff including the security personnel have been deployed as part of security arrangements in the hill state, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Maneesh Garg.

The counting process will begin at 8 am with postal ballots to be taken up first. (File photo)

Election Results: BJP won nearly 100 seats in 2017 Gujarat polls
The BJP won 99 seats in the 2017 assembly polls. This time, the party is projected to win in the range of 117-151 seats in a House of 182.