Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections result 2017: As it happened

Final seat tally for Himachal Pradesh: BJP 44, Congress 21, CPI (M) 1 and independents 2. 

According to Election Commission: 

BJP won 44 seats out of 68.
CPI(M) won 1 
Congress won 20
Independent won 1.

The Congress and the BJP had 36 and 26 seats respectively in the outgoing House.

The hill state had witnessed a record 75.28 per cent turnout.

JP Nadda, Jai Ram Thakur frontrunners in BJP race for Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister

During UP elections it was said BJP would lose due to GST effect in urban areas, same was said in Gujarat elections and local body polls in Maharashtra: PM Modi

Gujarat and Himachal elections have proved people are ready for reforms: PM Modi

Himachal voters did not accept the corrupt government. This is a sign of positivity and hope for development: PM Modi

PM Modi thank the voters of Himachal and Gujarat in his victory speech.

BJP has got a 2/3 victory in Himachal elections. This reflects people's trust on BJP. People of Himachal have voted against corruption: Shah

Amit Shah takes the dias, speaks on BJP's historic win for last 22 years in Gujarat.

Charts of 'Modi, Modi' engulf the entire headquarters. Shah asks party cadres to let in speak for 5 minutes in jest.

According to the EC:

• BJP has won 30 seats and leading in 14 seats
• Congress had won 17 seats, leading in 4 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at BJP HQ in Delhi, received by BJP President Amit Shah #ElectionResults2017 pic.twitter.com/MOEnKxVSNI

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

PM Modi reached BJP headquarters. 

"It's a symbol of people's confidence in Congress. Thankful that they made me victorious. We have never stepped back from serving people in Sujanpur & we will always serve them," said Congress's Rajinder Rana who won in Sujanpur seat against Prem Kumar Dhumal

Incumbent CM Virbhadra Singh managed to win from Arki with a lower margin of 6051 votes.He won by defeating BJP candidate Rattan Singh Pal.

ECI's latest Partywise Trends & Result:

Bharatiya Janata Party wins 23 seats
Communist Party of India (Marxist) wins 1 seat
Congress wins 13 seats
Independent wins 1 seat

"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. I was not expecting to lose, I will do an analysis," said Dhumal 

ECI's latest Partywise Trends & Result:

• Bharatiya Janata Party wins 17 seats
• Communist Party of India (Marxist) wins 1 seat
• Congress wins 10 seats
• Independent wins 1 seat

New Congress president Rahul Gandhi congratulates BJP for its win in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat with a tweet: 

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.

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) December 18, 2017

New Congress president Rahul Gandhi congratulates BJP for its win in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat with a tweet: 

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.

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) December 18, 2017

BJP's Pawan Nayyar win Chamba constituency by 1879 votes

BJP's SUBHASH THAKUR wins Bilaspur seat by 6862 vote

BJP's Jia Lal wins Bharmour seat by 7349 votes

BJP's Kishori Lal wins Anni seat by 5983 votes

BJP has won 15 seats, leading in 29 seats.

BJP has witnessed an increase of 10% in vote share in Himachal Pradesh elections: Shah

BJP chief Amit Shah thanks the voters of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat

"This is a victory of our policies and plans, a victory of polictics and performance, not casteism, dynasty and appeasement," said Shah.

Accepting BJP's victory in the hill state, incumbent chief minister and Congress candidate Virbhadra Singh said, "I accept the victory of BJP. I, being the CM, take full responsibility of our performance here. I hope Vikramaditya (Singh) keeps winning in future, like he won today."

ECI announces results for 19 Assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh:

• Bharatiya Janata Party wins: 11 
• Communist Party of India (Marxist) wins: 1
• Congress wins: 7 

हिमाचल प्रदेश में लहराया कमल, विकास की हुई भव्य जीत।

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 18, 2017

"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," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"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," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi 

BJP chief Amit Shah arrives at party headquarters in Delhi. 

Results for 15 out of 68 seats in Himachal Pradesh Assembly election 2017 declared:

• Bharatiya Janata Party wins: 9 seats
• Congress wins: 5 seats
• Communist Party of India (Marxist) wins: 1 seat

Battle for Himachal: Can Dhumal spring a surprise? Or will a new party face be the Himachal CM?

BJP poised to take power in Himachal, wins 4 seats, leading in over 40.

Himachal Pradesh Election Results: BJP candidate Sukh Ram wins from Paonta Sahib

Anger over demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) failed yet again to deliver the votes of discontent to the Congress that the grand old party had hoped for. Read more

According to latest Election Commission data:

• Bharatiya Janata Party has won 8 seats and leading in 37 
• Communist Party of India (Marxist) has one seat
• Indian National Congress has won 4 seats and leading in 15 
• Independent is leading in 3 seats

BJP Parliamentary party meeting to be held at Parliament Library building on Tuesday, December 19. The meet is likely to discuss the future course of action in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat and also ponder over the next Chief Minister of the hill state

Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Kajal wins from Kangra

Himachal election results: Trends available for 68/68 seats

BJP ahead in 40
Congress ahead in 24
Others - 4

No of seats won by parties so far:

Bharatiya Janata Party: 3 (leading in 40)

Communist Party of India (Marxist): 1

Indian National Congress: 2 (leading in 19)

Independent: (leading in 3)

ECI data

No of seats won by parties so far:

Bharatiya Janata Party: 3 (leading in 40)

Communist Party of India (Marxist): 1

Indian National Congress: 2 (leading in 19)

Independent: (leading in 3)

ECI data

No of seats won by parties so far:

Bharatiya Janata Party: 3 (leading in 40)

Communist Party of India (Marxist): 1

Indian National Congress: 2 (leading in 19)

Independent: (leading in 3)

ECI data

No of seats won by parties so far:

Bharatiya Janata Party: 3 (leading in 40)

Communist Party of India (Marxist): 1

Indian National Congress: 2 (leading in 19)

Independent: (leading in 3)

ECI data

"In his opening innings he scored zero" says Goa CM Manohar Parrikar

"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 & Himachal Pradesh have recognised the good work going on in the name of development," said defence minister N Sitharaman

Commented on the alleged EVM tampering, Former CEC N Gopalaswami said, "EVMs are stand alone machines, aren't connected to any network, can't be influenced over Bluetooth or wireless message,so to say EVMs have something wrong is absolutely incorrect. It's only a glorified calculator, moment you open it, it goes dead."

Union Minister Rajnath Singh also flashes victory sign outside Parliament as trends indicate BJP's victory in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh

Communist Party of India (Marxist) has won one seat in Himachal Pradesh

Maharashtra: BJP workers celebrate in Pune #GujaratVerdict #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/Qwa3QnhO3x

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

J&K: BJP workers celebrate in Jammu #GujaratVerdict #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/U46PBpRlCc

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

"The elections in Himachal didn't even feel like a contest," Irani tell Zee News. 

"Jo jeeta wohi sikandar," says Union minister Smriti Irani

Congress President Rahul Gandhi reaches Parliament on Monday morning.

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that the development is the mantra of today's polity as the BJP headed for a victory in Gujarat and was set to retain power and also stayed on course to oust the Congress in Himachal Pradesh.

In Anni constituency, BJP's Kishori Lal beats Congress' Paras Ram by 5,983 votes. 

BJP's candidate Suresh Bhardwaj defeats Independent candidate Harish Janartha in Shimla seat by 1,903 votes

Reacting to the BJP's win in Himchal, UP CM Yogi Adityanath congratulated PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. 

Amid slogan-shouting by Opposition over remarks on Manmohan Singh and poll result trends PTI, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for sometime 

Indian share market recovered after falling more than 2 per cent in early trading on Monday morning as Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP party appeared to win the elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat

Celebrations in #Mumbai as trends indicate BJP's victory in both #Himachal and #Gujarat #ElectionResults2017 pic.twitter.com/bWpAQRmqOv

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

Minister Giriraj Singh called the elections results as the first defeat of Rahul Gandhi as Congress president

Expressing happiness over the outcome of assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, BJP leaders today said the wins reflect citizen's trust in PM Modi and for development.

Scene at BJP Headquarter in #Delhi as trends indicate party's victory in both #Himachal and #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/x1LKJMGnta

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

In Haroli constituency, Congress candidates  Mukesh Agnihotri is leading with 4388 votes

BJP candidate Pratyahi Rajesh Thakur is leading in the Gagret seat with 7445 votes

"Congress has lost Himachal Pradesh, and I want to thank the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) for the unprecedented victory in Gujarat," said BJP MP Kirit Somaiya in Lok Sabha.

In Haroli constituency, Congress candidates  Mukesh Agnihotri is leading.

In Una constituency, Congress candidates Satpal Raizada is leading by over 2000 votes after 5 rounds of counting.

Prem Kumar Dhumal is once again trailing by more than 100 votes in Sujanpur seat. Congress' RAJINDER RANA is leading

The BJP and the Congress had contested in all the 68 constituencies while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) fielded 42 candidates and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) 14.

BJP`s Inder Singh Gandhi defeated Chaudhary from Balh in Mandi district with a big margin, according to IANS.

#HimachalPradeshElections2017: Pradesh: Workers celebrate at party office in Shimla as trends indicate BJP's victory in the state. pic.twitter.com/0SlktZd6J1

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

The BJP appears set to wrest power from the Congress party in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh.

Congress candidate Anirudh Singh has won the Kasumpti constituency seat in Himachal Pradesh, defeating BJP's Vijay Jyoti by a margin of 9,397 votes

In Himachal Pradesh, BJP CM candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal is now leading by 500 votes.

Himachal election results: Trends available for 68/68 seats

BJP ahead in 44
Congress ahead in 20
Others - 4

#MadhyaPradesh: BJP celebrates at party office in #Bhopal as trends indicate BJP's victory in both Gujarat & Himachal Pradesh #GujaratVerdict #HimachalPradeshElections2017 pic.twitter.com/2DB4QrrYqn

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

Trends are changing in Himachal. Congress now leading in 25 seats.

Himachal election results: Trends available for 68/68 seats

BJP ahead in 40
Congress ahead in 25
Others - 3

Himachal election results: Trends available for 68/68 seats

BJP ahead in 41
Congress ahead in 24
Others - 3

"Will form Government in both Himachal and Gujarat with clear majority" says Home Minister Rajnath Singh

BJP's Suresh Bhardwaj is Leading in Shimla

BJP's Jawahar Thakur is leading in Drang

#WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign as he arrives at the Parliament. #ElectionResults pic.twitter.com/Q4PRNjMpoK

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

#GujaratResults
Prime Minister @narendramodi arrives in the Parliament, flashes victory sign. https://t.co/9MSIvHDeOo pic.twitter.com/72spnueE5P

— Zee News (@ZeeNews) December 18, 2017

Himachal election results: Trends available for 68/68 seats

BJP ahead in 42
Congress ahead in 23
Others - 3

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches the Parliament, flashes victory sign.

Himachal election results: Trends available for 68/68 seats

BJP ahead in 41
Congress ahead in 22
Others leading in 5

"I am sure in the end Congress will be victorious and form Government in the state" says Vikramaditya Singh, contesting from Shimla Rural #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/bmZP0RWeec

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017

Congress' Champa Thakur is trailing in Mandi

Dr Pramod Sharma is trailing in Shimla Rural

BJP's Indu Goswami is trailing in Palampur constituency 

Congress candidate Ashish Butail is leading in Palampur constituency 

Latest Himachal election 2017 trends for 67/68 seats

BJP ahead in 39
Congress ahead in 23
Others - 5