CM Thakur’s 6th win on home turf, BJP struggles to edge past Cong in Himachal

Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has emerged victorious in the stronghold of Seraj in the Mandi district as votes are counted for the assembly elections.

The BJP is eyeing a second straight term, defying a decades-old polling trend that has been witnessed in the hill state of alternating between the Congress and the BJP. While some pollsters have predicted a cliffhanger, others have predicted a close contest of the ruling party with the Congress.

In the trends that have emerged so far, a close contest was registered between the BJP and the Congress. In the latest updates, the grand old party was leading in 38 of 68 seats while the BJP was leading in 27 seats.

Thakur – soon after the exit polls were out on Monday – said that people should wait till the counting day. “Several exit polls have shown that the BJP is forming government again in Himachal but some said a neck-to-neck fight will be seen in a few segments. We should wait till December 8 for the final outcome. According to our analysis, there is a very good possibility of the BJP forming the government with a comfortable majority,” he had told reporters.

The 57-year-old leader has been winning in Seraj since 1998, and is a five-time legislator from the constituency, earlier known as Chachiot.

When he had filed his nomination from the constituency in October, he had sought blessings from the voters to choose him again. He also recalled contesting the elections for the first time in 1993 and witnessing changes ever since. “When I contested the 1993 elections, there would be only one or two party workers at 60 polling stations while at some booths there were none. Hills of Seraj are eyewitnesses that while climbing up, we got tired, stopped, sat down but started again. Many of the companions of that time have grown old but are still standing behind me like a rock,” HT had quoted him as saying in an earlier report. Earlier this year, ahead of the polls, the Chief Minister had inaugurated projects worth ₹59 crore in his home turf.

The Congress’s Chetram Thakur is contesting against him. Voting for 68 assembly constituencies of Himachal Pradesh was held on November 12. The BJP had won 44 seats in the 2017 state polls.