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.
Here are the Highlights on Himachal Pradesh Voting:
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Himachal Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 65.92 per cent till 5 pm on Saturday, the Election Commission said, citing provisional polling figures for the state where the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress are locked in an aggressive fight.
Only around five per cent polling was recorded in the first hour, while till 11 am, it was 19.98 per cent. It notched up to 37.19 per cent by 1 pm and 55.65 per cent till 3 pm.
Till 5 pm, a 65.92 per cent turnout was recorded, the Election Commission (EC) said.
Voting concluded for the 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh at 5pm. Those inside polling stations will still be allowed to vote, and then the turnout be known. Turnout in 2017 was 74.6 per cent, highest in years. Results will be out on December 8.
Congress leader Anand Sharma on Saturday said that the people of Himachal Pradesh were in a mood to change the government in the state by ruling out the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state assembly election.
When asked if there can be poaching of Congress MLAs, Sarma said, "We will have a strong majority, they (BJP) won't succeed."
Mr Sharma cast his vote in Shimla's Longwood in the Assembly polls which are underway on Saturday.
Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee on Saturday claimed that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is circulating a forged letter with motives to influence voting patterns in favour of its party in the State.
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, Congress requested to file a complaint against the National and State Presidents of BJP.
"I am bringing to your kind notice that a letter is being circulated on various media platforms on the official letter pad of Rajiv Shukla ji, Hon'ble Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) & former Minister to the Union of India (Incharge- Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee) with motives to influence voting patterns in favor of BJP Himachal Pradesh," the letter reads.
Congress MLA and son of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, Vikramaditya Singh said that the BJP will face defeat in the assembly election like they did in the last bypoll. "That was semi-finals, this is the final now," he said.
Nearly 38 per cent of the eligiblevoters have cast vote till 1 pm so far. The voting started on a slow note with only around 5 per cent polling recorded in the first hour. Till 11 am, 19.98 percent polling was recorded.
Though the Election Commission provided a voluntary facility to voters over 80 to cast their vote through ballot papers at their homes, Naro Devi preferred to cast her vote through the EVM at the polling station.
Chief Minister Jairam Thakur told NDTV the BJP hopes to break the cycle of the same government not coming to power a second time in a row. "We hope the people give us one more chance. We have appealed to the people to change that custom (of not same government not getting re-elected). We have asked them to form a double-engine government," Mr Thakur said.
There are only 24 women candidates in the fray this time, against 19 in 2017 and 34 in the 2012 assembly polls.
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 canvassing with a personal appeal to voters of the state, where he said every vote cast for the BJP symbol "lotus" will enhance his strength.