LIVE updates: Counting begins in Gujarat, Himachal, BJP eyes victory

Election Result

Counting of votes for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections has started. The result will be announced today itself. The 182 constituencies in the Gujarat Assembly had gone to the polls in two phases – on December 9 and 14. The electors in Himachal Pradesh’s 68 seats had voted to elect their legislators for their respective constituencies on November 9.

The Gujarat election 2017 Result is seen as a prestige battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been ruling his home state for over two decades. It is also considered a litmus test for Rahul Gandhi, the newly elected president of the Congress party.

In Gujarat, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking a sixth straight term in office, the Congress is aiming to stage a comeback to power after being in the Opposition for over two decades. Further, the results are expected to reveal the voter sentiment, especially in the aftermath of the Narendra Modi-led central governments demonetisation and GST decisions. Many see this state election as a mini-referendum ahead of the 2019 parliamentary polls on the policies of the Modi government, which had come to power at the Centre with a thumping majority in 2017, ostensibly on the back of the 'Gujarat model' of development.

Most exit polls have given the BJP a clear majority with more than the 92-seat mark -- some as many as 135 of the 182 seats in the state. PM Modi's ruling BJP is predicted to sweep the election in his home state, surveys showed on Thursday, shaking off the most serious challenge yet from the Opposition.

The counting of votes will be held at 37 centres across the state's 33 districts amid tight security.

Up north, in Himachal Pradesh, the fate of 337 candidates, including Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his predecessor Prem Kumar Dhumal, will be known on Monday as counting of votes is taken up in the state, where traditional rivals BJP and Congress have both contested in all 68 seats.

The hill state witnessed a record 75.28 per cent turnout and pollsters have predicted a landslide BJP victory.

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