Congress sweeps Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022, ousting BJP

Change has been constant in Himachal Pradesh for years, and Congress's win in this year's state Assembly elections has maintained the trend in the state. The Congress ousted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022 on Thursday, December 8. The grand old party secured 40 seats, crossing the majority mark and beating the BJP with minimal difference in the vote share.

(Credit: EC)

In the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022, the Congress won 40 seats, and the BJP bagged 25 seats. Meanwhile, three seats — Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh — went to independent candidates. In a big blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Arvind-Kejriwal-led party failed to open its account.

Even before the declaration of results on all the seats, current Chief Minister Jairam Thakur conceded defeat and said he would tender his resignation to the Governor. "I respect people's mandate...A new government will be formed... I would like to congratulate them and hope they will fulfil all the promises made by them to the people," Thakur said.

As the Congress claimed victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to thank the people of Himachal Pradesh and said the "BJP will working to fulfil aspirations."

Congress didn't choose a CM face before the elections. Leaders will now brainstorm who will become the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh. The party has convened a meeting of all its newly-elected MLAs in Himachal Pradesh in Chandigarh after the declaration of results, News18 reported. The meeting might be held at Hotel Radisson in Chandigarh at 5 pm on Thursday.

According to News 18 sources, Congress leaders Pratibha Singh and Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu are in the race for Chief Minister in Himachal Pradesh.

Himachal Pradesh is said to be a swing state — meaning no incumbent government has ever returned to power in the state, except in 1985, Election Commission data analysed by News18 showed.

Between the 1993 elections and the 2012 polls, the chief minister's post rotated between Congress leader Virbhadra Singh and BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal. Singh, who passed away in July 2021, was the state's longest-serving chief minister and ruled for more than 21 years — 1983-1990; 1993-1998; 2003-2007; and 2012-2017.