Shimla: Poll officials at a counting centre during counting of votes for Lok Sabha elections, in Shimla Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (PTI Phot0)
Shimla: The BJP is way ahead of the Congress on all four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh, according to Election Commission data. BJP candidate from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut is leading by a margin of 71,857 votes over her Congress rival Vikramaditya Singh while Union minister Anurag Thakur, seeking a fifth term from the Hamirpur seat, is ahead by a margin of 1,77,708 votes over Congress' Satpal Raizada, the EC data showed.
Former state BJP president and sitting party MP from Shimla Suresh Kashyap is leading by 90,548 votes and BJP Kangra nominee Rajiv Bhardwaj by 2,47,343 votes.
Bhardwaj's Congress rival Anand Sharma has conceded defeat.
"Contesting from Kangra was a splendid experience and I accept my defeat humbly and congratulate Rajiv Bhardwaj for his success," Sharma, a former Union minister, said.
"I am thankful to the Congress party leadership and colleagues who trusted me and I accepted the party's decision knowing that Kangra was a BJP bastion," he told PTI.
"I am grateful to the people of Kangra and Chamba for their love and affection," he added.
Thakur voiced optimism that the BJP-led NDA would once again form the government in the country and thanked the people for giving a massive mandate to the party in Himachal Pradesh.
Kashyap told PTI that the results seemed to be on the lines of exit polls and that people had made up their minds to make Narendra Modi the prime minister for a third time.
State BJP chief Rajiv Bindal said people have once again given the mandate to the party.
The BJP is leading on all four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh although the Congress government "misused" its power, Bindal said in a video message released here.
He said this is a "major defeat" of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who has "failed to deliver" in his government's 18-month tenure so far.
Counting of votes began at 8 am at 80 counting centers across the state for the Lok Sabha seats and the six assembly constituencies where by-polls were held simultaneously on June 1.
The assembly constituencies where by-polls were held are Sujanpur, Dharamshala, Lahaul and Spiti, Barsar, Gagret, and Kutlehar.
( Source : PTI )
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