Close on the heels of the Gujarat victory and riding a strong anti-incumbency wave, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today registered a spectacular election victory in Himachal Pradesh, winning 41 of the 68 Assembly seats.

The Congress, which had won 43 seats in the 2003 election, was down to 23 seats.

This is the first time the BJP will be forming a government in Himachal Pradesh on its own strength. Its campaign was led by Prem Kumar Dhumal, projected by the party as its chief ministerial candidate.

Earlier, Dhumal had become chief minister in 1998, forming a coalition government with Sukh Ram’s HVC. But he was voted out in 2003, with the BJP winning only 16 seats.

Another highlight of this election is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) opening its account in Himachal Pradesh: it fielded 68 candidates, mostly Congress and BJP rebels, and secured one seat. But the man it projected as chief ministerial candidate, Maj. Vijai Singh Mankotia, a former Congress minister, suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the BJP in the Dharamshala seat.

Three Independents have also won at the hustings. Two of them are BJP rebels — Rakesh Pathania (Nurpur) and Hira Lal (Karsog) — and one is a Congress rebel — Rakesh Verma (Theog).

Dhumal, 63, won his seat (Bamson) with the highest margin in the elections (26,007 votes). He defeated his nearest Congress rival and schoolmate Col (Retd) B.C. Lagwal. Only six months back, Dhumal had trounced the Congress by more than 80,000 votes in the Lok Sabha by-election from Hamirpur. This was a turning point of sorts for the BJP in the state.

... contd.