Will Himachal Pradesh give one more term to the BJP or to go by the four-decade tradition of voting out the ruling government and bring the opposition Congress or AAP to power in the hill state? The state went to polls today to answer this.
The voters will decide the fate of 412 candidates, including Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, former Chief Minister Virbhadhra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh, in the elections in 68 constituencies across the state.
For the ruling BJP - which is hoping to retain power on the back of its development agenda - Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led the campaign from the front, wrapping up his campaign with a personal appeal to voters of the state, where he said every vote cast for the BJP symbol "lotus" will enhance his strength.The election is a matter for survival for the Congress, which has been on a downhill electorally since the last two election cycles.