Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh submits resignation after BJP wins Assembly polls

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Tuesday called on Governor Acharya Devvrat at Raj Bhavan and tendered his resignation. Along with his own, he also submitted the resignation of his Council of Ministers.

The Governor accepted the resignation and requested him and his ministers to continue in office till an alternative arrangement is made or the new government takes charge.

The resignation comes a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 44 seats, falling short of a two-thirds majority by two seats in the 68-member house. 

The BJP, which had won 26 seats in 2012, recorded a 10 per cent jump in vote share that touched 48.7 per cent.

The Congress bagged 21 seats. The ruling party had 36 seats earlier, and its vote share declined by 1 percentage point to 41.8 per cent. The CPI-M bagged one seat while two seats were won by Independent candidates.

However, in a disapointment for the BJP, its chief ministerial candidate in the hill state, Prem Kumar Dhumal, lost to Congress' Rajinder Rana in Sujanpur. Dhumal changed his traditional constituency of Hamirpur. 

He was made the CM face only nine days before the polling. The state has a tradition of a change in the government every election.