After record polling in HP, both Cong and BJP hopeful of victory
State’s two main political parties analyse the voting trend and post-poll projections
SHIMLA:: A day after Himachal Pradesh registered a record turnout during Lok Sabha polls on Sunday, strategist of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, the two main political parties in the state, went into huddle to analyse the voting trend and post-poll projections.
The state witnessed 72.25% polling, surpassing the previous highest turnout of 65.3% in 1998, when the Congress won the Shimla seat and the BJP emerged victorious in Mandi, Kangra and Hamirpur.
The votes will be counted on May 23 and the two parties exuded confidence about the result, which both claimed would be in their favour.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won all the four seats in the state. The Congress is eyeing to wrest the seats after a gap of five years.
The BJP has convened meeting of its in-charges for the four parliamentary constituencies to discuss the voting trend and exit poll predictions which indicated another term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We are assessing the situation on the ground and also gathering reports from block units,” said party’s state general secretary Chander Mohan Thakur .
“Exit polls reflect the popularity of Modi and his vision,” said chief minister Jai Ram Thakur.
“Exit polls have proved that Modi’s tenure has overshadowed 60-year regime of the Congress,” he added. Thakur, who was camping in Kangra after the polling concluded on Sunday, made an unscheduled visit to New Delhi. It is likely that Thakur will apprise the party high command about polling trend in Himachal Pradesh.
State BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti expressed the hope that the party would win all the four seats in Himachal. “The BJP will win all the four seats in Himachal by huge margins. This has become
Exit polls have proved that Modi’s tenure has overshadowed 60-yearold regime of Congress.
JAI RAM THAKUR, Himachal Pradesh chief minister
possible due to the hard work of our party workers,” he added.
Congress leaders claimed that that the party had put up a spirited fight against the BJP in the state.
“The Congress will perform well in the elections. We fought unitedly against the BJP, which has lowered the political narrative in the state. Every citizen believes in building a strong nation rather than involving in divisive politics and people have voted for a secular government,” said state Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore.
Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh said the increase in polling percentage showed that people had faith in democracy. “I am confident that people of the state have voted for the Congress as it was secular and did not believe in divisive politics,” he added.
WHAT POLL ANALYST SAY
Head of political science department in Himachal Pradesh University Harish Thakur said heavy polling usually indicated a strong response of voters to antiincumbency factors.
“Heavy polling normally indicates the mood against the establishment. However, voters sometimes turn out more in number over sensitive issues. It seems that national security and transparency in governance have contributed to heavy turnout,” he said.