The Congress, checking its caravan of losses, demonstrated a huge surge in Himachal, winning the state and besting its principal rival, the BJP. A cautious Congress has called a meeting of its MLAs today to decide on the Chief Minister question.

Earlier, the party had called all its MLAs to Chandigarh but changed its plans later after it got a clear majority in the polls.

“The newly-elected Congress MLAs would meet in Shimla on Friday post-election results and decide on electing the new legislature party leader,” Rajeev Shukla, in-charge of Himachal Pradesh, told told news agency PTI.

“The party is sending two observers — Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and senior leader Bhupinder Hooda— along with me. We will be travelling to Shimla today where all the party MLAs have been called,” Mr Shukla further said.

Himachal Pradesh stuck to its “rivaaj” — the practice of oscillating between the BJP and Congress every five years.

The Congress won 40 of the state’s 68 seats. The BJP, while scoring a landslide victory in Gujarat, remained a distant second in the northern state, with 25 seats. Chief Minister Jairam Thakur has already conceded defeat.

Home state of BJP national president JP Nadda, Himachal saw BJP rebels in at least 21 of the 68 constituencies. Only two of them won, but others got significant votes that may ideally have gone to the BJP.

Congress leaders have credited party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s campaign in the hill state for the good showing of the party in the assembly elections.

Priyanka Gandhi led the party’s charge in Himachal Pradesh with several rallies and was also closely involved in strategy planning for the polls.

This is Priyanka Gandhi’s first electoral success while heading the campaign charge. The party had lost Uttar Pradesh assembly polls while she spearheaded the canvassing there earlier this year.

Source link: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/congress-himachal-mlas-to-meet-in-shimla-tomorrow-decide-chief-minister-3590452