Gujarat Legislative Assembly Election 2017 Results LIVE: BJP crosses 100-seat mark, Congress at 80

Himachal Pradesh which went to polls in a single phase on November 9 will get its results on Monday. Counting began at 8 am. A record 74.61% of voters of the 49.05 lakh electorate had turned up to choose from 338 candidates for 68 Assembly seats. Himachal Pradesh which is currently ruled by the Congress has swung back and forth between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress for more than three decades now with the incumbent government being voted out every time.The BJP has named Prem Kumar Dhumal its chief ministerial candidate and fielded him from the Sujanpur constituency while the Congress has fielded incumbent Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for the post again from the Arki Assembly seat. Here are the updates so far: 10.16 am: The EC says the BJP is leading in 35 seats and the Congress in 22 seats. BJP s chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal was trailing is now trailing by 1 709 votes in Sujanpur while Virbhadra Singh is leading by 1 017 votes. 10.10 am: The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty opened lower on Monday. But the Sensex made some gains later and was up more than 187 points at 33 650.80. 10.08 am: The BJP s chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal was trailing by 540 votes in Sujanpur while the Congress Virbhadra Singh was leading by more than 1 000 in his Arki Assembly seat. 9.53 am: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh s son Vikramaditya is leading by 1 316 votes in Shimla Rural.Party-wise the BJP is leading in 30 seats and the Congress is in 21 seats according to the EC. 9.43 am: News18 has called Himachal Pradesh for the Bharatiya Janata Party which it said was leading in 39 seats. The Congress was on its way to lose the state it reported. #BREAKING -- CNN-News18 calls Himachal Pradesh election result in favour of BJP. The hill state has been painted with saffron. #ElectionsWithNews18 LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/aL12tcr1Zv pic.twitter.com/xJLFRh1v0Z News18 (@CNNnews18) December 18 2017 9.40 am: The BJP is now leading in 27 constituencies and the Congress in 15 according to the EC. NDTV reported that the BJP has a lead in 38 seats and News18 said the saffron party is ahead in 39.A party needs 35 seats to win the Assembly election. 9.35 am: The BJP and Congress are leading in 13 seats each according to the Election Commission. 9.25 am: The BJP is leading in 10 seats and the Congress in 9 seats according to the Election Commission. 9.17 am: The Election Commission says the Congress is leading in 4 seats the BJP in 3 seats and the CPI(M) in 1 seat.NDTV however said the BJP is ahead in 23 constituencies and the Congress in 14 constituencies while News18 reported that the BJP is leading in 24 seats and the Congress in 16. 9.09 am: The latest figures released by the Election Commission shows the BJP leading in 2 seats and the Congress and the CPI(M) in one seat each. 9.04 am: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is leading in one seat and the Congress is ahead in one seat according to the Election Commission of India.The major players in the state are the Congress and the BJP both of which have fielded candidates in all 68 constituencies. Other parties in the fray are the Bahujan Samaj Party Communist Party of India (Marxist) Swabhiman Party the Lok Gathbandhan Party and the Communist Party of India besides 112 Independent candidates. 8.48 am: The BJP is now leading in 11 seats and the Congress in 3 seats NDTV said. According to News18 BJP is ahead in 11 seats while Congress in 2 seats. EVMs opened at a counting centre in Shimla s Kasumpati as counting of votes continues #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/rsid3L2xgd ANI (@ANI) December 18 2017 8.33 am: The BJP is leading in 7 seats while the Congress is ahead in 2 seats according to News18. The saffron party is leading in 3 seats and the Congress in one seat NDTV said. However there are no updates form the Election Commission yet. 8.25 am: Early trends according to the NDTV shows the Congress leading in one seat. 8.20 am: Early trends show the Bharatiya Janata Party leading in four seats according to News18. Counting of postal ballots underway; visuals from a counting center in #Shimla s Kasumpti #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/jkFIi3Gtmq ANI (@ANI) December 18 2017 8 am: Counting of votes begins at 42 centres in Himachal Pradesh. Postal ballots de-sealed by officials at a counting centre in Shimla s Sanjauli as counting of votes begins. #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/kQ5vi7Tx0Y ANI (@ANI) December 18 2017 #FLASH Counting of votes begins for Himachal Pradesh & Gujarat assembly elections. pic.twitter.com/7go3jWO5yz ANI (@ANI) December 18 2017 7.30 am: Counting set to begin at 8 am. Visuals from counting centres set up in Shimla & Hamirpur #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/Z0aSdjTUKp ANI (@ANI) December 18 2017 A number of exit polls have predicted a comfortable win for the BJP. A poll of polls projected a 47-20 seat share in favour of the saffron party in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly. NEW DELHI: If the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins but falls way short of a sweep (it has set a lofty target of 150 seats) in the Gujarat assembly elections it will still be a feat by the party with several decades of incumbency. But it can still put in doubt the Modi wave which has been sweeping the country since the BJP won a landslide victory in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2014. The BJP s victory with a small margin will be an achievement for the party which has struggled to mollify voters after its radical economic reforms such as demonetisation and GST disrupted businesses and caused resentment among its core voter groups. Add to that the Patel challenge mounted by quota leader Hardik Patel and caste leaders Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Thakore siding with the Congress. Yet after the BJP s stunning victory in Uttar Pradesh early this year the bar was raised for the party. A victory in Gujarat without a good margin might indicate the opposition ;s Gujarat strategy might be somewhat effective when nothing seems to be working against the magic spell of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Such a victory will not only embolden the opposition parties to try a similar strategy in future elections but also make Modi less aggressive with his reform agenda. If the BJP wins with fewer seats it will be an opportunity for the opposition to mobilise across India for the next Lok Sabha elections. If the BJP loses a significant part of its vote share due to the Patidar discontent the Congress will use Gujarat as a template for the next Lok Sabha elections. Even a partially successful caste strategy in Gujarat will embolden the Congress to try it elsewhere too. So far the Congress has had an utter disconnect with the masses. It s leader Rahu Gandhi does not come across as a convincing opponent to Modi. But a Congress with a strategy and a confident leader can sure prove to be a difficult challenge to Modi in the Lok Sabha elections. Gujarat had its Assembly elections in two phases on December 9 and December 14. Around 68.41% of voters or 43.3 million people turned up to choose their representatives for the state s 182 seats. However polling on both days was marred by complaints of malfunctioning electronic voting machines. Re-polling was held at six booths in four Assembly constituencies on Sunday.Gujarat has had a Bharatiya Janata Party government for 22 years. This election is particularly important for the ruling party as it will be considered a testimony of how successful demonetisation and the Goods and Service Tax have been. The polls are also equally significant for Rahul Gandhi as this will be his first election after becoming Congress president. Reportage from the state suggested that there was plenty of unhappiness with the BJP but it remains to be seen whether that will translate to outright preference for the Congress.Names that matterThis time the Gujarat election does not seem to be a simple two-party fight. Ground realities have showed that it is new faces like Hardik Patel Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani who are viewed as opposition leaders in the state.Hardik Patel the face of the Patidar agitation for reservation has drawn huge crowds at his rallies. His core political plank has been reservation for his community. However he has neither floated a political party nor has he said outright that he supports the Congress.Alpesh Thakor the face of the Kshatriya-Thakor community in the state made the lack of educational opportunities the focal point of his campaign. The OBC leader joined the Congress in October and contested the elections from Radhanpur in North Gujarat.Jignesh Mevani became a rallying force for the Dalit community after four men were flogged in Saurashtra s Una town in 2016. He contested as an independent candidate from the Vadgam constituency but is expected to deliver the overall Dalit vote to the Congress.The campaignThe BJP started its campaign with vikas (development) as its poll plank before the first phase of voting but appeared to play the communal and nationalist card as the second phase neared. It talked about reducing the number of dadhi-topi people in power and accused the Congress of colluding with Pakistan to make Ahmed Patel Gujarat s chief minister.Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was the party s star campaigner used a range of dog-whistles to insinuate that the Congress is a party of Muslims and hence untrustworthy for Hindus. The Congress has largely failed to fend off the attacks. Instead Rahul Gandhi who was the face and the brain of the Congress campaign in Gujarat reached out to Hardik Patel Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani. Electoral issuesThe farming crisis lack of development and rising unemployment were the major issues ahead of the election. However while campaigning the BJP rarely delved into what it has done to boost development. Rather it combined its polarising rhetoric with Modi s star campaigner status to woo voters. BJP s performance speaks for itself Arun Jaitley had said while releasing the party s manifesto. The Congress has sought to reap an advantage from the anti-incumbency wave. In its campaign the party highlighted how demonetisation and the hasty rollout of GST hit the informal economy in Gujarat. Patel Thakor and Mevani ripped into the Gujarat model of development by highlighting the problems that their communities are facing.Exit pollsExit polls from Gujarat projected a comfortable victory for the BJP. All the major polls predicted more than 100 seats for the saffron party meaning they will cross the halfway mark of 92. Though most suggested the Congress had also made gains those only appeared to be incremental.An average of the major exit polls seat projections suggests the BJP will actually better its 2012 performance adding two seats while the Congress will be 53 seats behind it.The 2012 electionsThe BJP had won the 2012 Assembly elections in Gujarat with 115 out of 182 seats. The Congress had got 61 seats while the Gujarat Parivartan Party won two independents got 1 and others bagged three seats. New Delhi: Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) supporters on Monday performed havan in Varanasi as the counting of votes was underway for the Himachal assembly polls. The counting of votes began at 8 AM on Monday for high-stake Gujarat Assembly elections considered a prestige battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his home state Gujarat and a litmus test for new Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Earlier Congress supporters performed havan outside Rahul s residence in Delhi shortly before the counting of votes began. Early trends on Monday showed BJP ahead of Congress in both Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. GUJARAT ASSEMBLY ELECTION RESULTS 2017 | FULL COVERAGE HIMCHAL PRADESH ASSEMBLY ELECTION RESULTS 2017 | FULL COVERAGE #UttarPradesh Supporters perform Havan in #Varanasi as counting of votes continues for #Gujarat and #HimachalPradesh assembly electionsGujarat LIVE updates: https://t.co/1ZsYybXLwr Himachal Pradesh Live updates: https://t.co/MYzrbSTFDT pic.twitter.com/MV4nSreJov News Nation (@NewsNationTV) December 18 2017 Supporters perform Hawan outside Congress President Rahul Gandhi s residence in #Delhi ahead of counting of votes set to begin shortly #GujaratElection2017 #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/rv5bfsiIa2 ANI (@ANI) December 18 2017 ALSO READ BJP behind my fake resignation letter: Gujarat Cong chief Chidambaram s comment on EC not appropriate: Gujarat CM Election Commission taught BJP lesson of life: Congress Gujarat polls: Amid EVM glitches Ahmed Patel calls for immediate action Gujarat polls: EC to examine if Rahul s interview violates rule span.p-content div id =div-gpt line-height: 0px; font-size: 0px; Patidar leader and Congress ally Hardik Patel said on Sunday that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would lose in Gujarat Assembly election if elections had been conducted in a fair manner. If elections have been conducted fairly BJP is going to lose Patel who had reached Somnath Temple to offer prayers on the eve of poll results told media here. Reiterating his allegations that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been tampered with the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti convener said ATMs have been hacked so it is obvious that EVMs can be hacked as well. I have said it repeatedly that if there are some seats where victory margin is 1200-1500 votes then it is due to sabotaged EVMs. Hardik Patel has alleged that a company had hired 140 engineers to hack 5000 EVMs. The Ahmedabad collector however rubbished the allegations as baseless .Besides Patel the Congress has also made similar allegations against BJP.On Saturday the Supreme Court dismissed the Congress plea seeking directions to the Election Commission (EC) to count and cross verify at least 25 percent of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) with votes cast with EVM.(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)