High polling in state leaves political parties guessing

WHILE CM VIRBHADRA’S BATTLEFIELD ARKI RECORDED 74.63% TURNOUT, DHUMAL’S SEAT SUJANPUR SAW 74.07% POLLING

SHIMLA: With Himachal recording its highest ever voter turnout at 74.6%, the political circles in the state are left agog about the outcome of the elections.

Analysis of the voting trends in the state show that heavy polling was recorded in the constituencies from where political stalwarts are contesting.

There are more than a dozen constituencies where bigwigs are locked in a fierce political battle.

In chief minister Virbhadra Singh’s battlefield Arki, 74.63% voting was recorded. BJP has pitted a debutant Rattan Singh Pal against the six-time CM Virbhadra from the seat.

In Sujanpur, where BJP’s CM face Prem Kumar Dhumal is contesting against his former protege Rajinder Rana, 74.07% voting was recorded.

Jubbal and Kotkhai recorded the highest polling percentage of 80.24% in Shimla district.

POLL ANALYSTS SAY HEAVY TURNOUT HINTS AT CHANGE

Meanwhile, political analysts are of the opinion that the heavy voter turnout is indicative of change. Speaking to Hindustan Times, Harish Thakur, head of the political science department of Himachal Pradesh university, said, “If one sees the electoral trend of previous years, heavy voting has always resulted in the change of government. This time too, it appears that the anti-incumbency wave was high.”

Thakur, however, maintains, “It still remains to be seen whether there was an undercurrent against the central government or the government led by chief minister Virbhadra Singh.”

In 1998, the BJP and Congress managed 31 seats each while Sukhram’s Himachal Vikas Congress bagged five seats. Shanta Kumar’s loyalist Ramesh Dhwala had won independently. From 1993 to 1998, the Congress ruled the state. In the 1998, elections, the voter turnout was 71.23%.

In 2003, Congress came back in power by winning 43 seats while the BJP secured only 16. The voter turnout was a record 74.51%. It was dubbed as a vote of anti-incumbency. Virbhadra Singh once again became the chief minister and run the government for five years. In 2007, the BJP raced out the Congress by winning 41 seats. The voting percentage this time was 71.6%.

In 2012, 72.67% votes were polled and Congress came back into power by winning 36 seats. BJP was confident about its victory but Virbhadra Singh drove the party back to power.