of the Himalayas Congress’s chariot race in ‘Devabhumi’, which is covered in snow. Congress won 38 seats in Himachal Pradesh, where BJP and Congress had a close fight. The victory of the Congress was to topple the BJP in the state, where no party has won continuous rule since 1985. Despite losing ground in the Gujarat assembly elections, the victory in Himachal was the crowning glory for the new Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. It was hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal influence and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s ‘Chanakya Tantra’ would complete the BJP’s winning formula in Himachal, but it did not happen. Losing power in his own state was a heavy blow to BJP national president JP Nadda. While the BJP came second with 27 seats, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which entered the fray for the first time under the leadership of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, failed to win a single seat. The Himachal result came as a setback for AAP, coming just after it swept away 15 years of BJP rule and seized control of the Delhi Municipal Corporation.
In the 2017 assembly elections, BJP won 44 seats, Congress 21 seats and CPM one seat. This time 412 candidates contested in 68 assembly constituencies. The polling on November 12 was 74.05 percent. In 2017, the turnout was 75.6 percent. In Himachal with 55.74 lakh voters, the voter turnout was lower than the previous year, beating the hearts of both the BJP and the Congress. The election, fought by the BJP and the Congress anti-incumbency, hoping for an anti-incumbency wave, saw issues including single person rule, the crisis of apple farmers, old pension scheme, price rise, unemployment, fire road and freebies promised to women.
∙ Congress has improved its position
Under new national president Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress, campaigned by AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, captured 16 more seats than the previous year. Congress won 22 seats last time. Since the 1990s, Himachal has been ruled by alternating parties. Therefore, the party was overconfident that it would come to power.
Congress was led by sister Priyanka Gandhi instead of Rahul Gandhi who was busy with Bharat Jodo Yatra. Against the BJP, which has no shortage of maneuvers to achieve political victory, the Congress tried to win through traditional political means. From the very beginning, he tried to do better work at the grassroots level, keeping an eye on delivering the election promises to the people. The absence of a headstrong leader like Veerabhadra Singh, who is the chief minister of the state for 6 times, was a challenge at the beginning of the election, but the image of the party was improved by putting former PCC president and campaign committee chairman Sukhwinder Singh Sukku, Veerabhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha Singh MP and opposition leader Mukesh Agnihotri in the front.
Hoping that the anti-governance sentiment would be voted in, the Congress campaigned by announcing that it would restore the Pension Scheme (OPS) if it came to power. In the Congress, which had campaigned on OPS and Agnipath, buoyed by the anti-incumbency sentiment and the confidence given by its victory in the by-elections, the rebel jitters were also strong. Grassroots influence and the promise of free electricity were favoured. Groups within the party and inability to capitalize on the BJP’s weaknesses were expected to backfire, but this did not happen.
Restoration of old pension scheme, Rs 1500 per month for women, free electricity up to 300 units, start-up fund of Rs 680 crore, 1 lakh government jobs, 5 lakh jobs for youth, 4 English medium schools in each assembly constituency, mobile treatment clinics, power to fix prices of produce for farm owners etc. The manifesto of Congress was full of promises.
∙ Color faded BJP
In a thrilling election battle, the Himachal result came as a heavy blow to the BJP, which was hoping for continued rule. BJP won 27 seats this time. The BJP won 45 seats in the 2017 assembly elections. BJP was leading in exit polls and opinion polls. The result of the assembly election has again dealt a heavy blow to the BJP, which won the by-elections to 3 assembly seats and the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in the state last November.
As the Himachal victory was essential for the party at the national level as well, BJP National President JP Nadda camped in his home state and led the campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity, Modi-centric vote-seeking, campaigning for a ‘double-engine’ government at the center and state, and organizational capacity were expected to give strength to the BJP, but anti-incumbency sentiment and protests among farmers and youth, problems within the party, and insurgent disturbances have backfired.
The popularity of incumbent Chief Minister Jairam Thakur and the wooing of people from the Congress camp were expected to increase the victory percentage, but it did not happen. Chief Minister Jairam Thakur welcomed 26 people who left Congress and joined BJP. The marginalization of senior leader Prem Kumar Dhumal also backfired in the election (although the BJP won a majority last time, Prem Kumar Dhumal’s unexpected defeat paved the way for Jairam Thakur to become the Chief Minister. Prem Kumar Dhumal is the father of Union Minister Anurag Thakur. Former Rajya Sabha member Kripal Parmar and his supporter Baldev Thakur, who was the BJP state vice president, were hoping for a BJP ticket in Fatehpur in Kangra district. The fact that some of them came against the official candidates of the BJP had caused a headache for the party.
BJP’s manifesto and campaign was aimed at women voters. Single Person Act, free cycle for schoolgirls and scooty for senior students, Rs 51,000 as wedding gift for women, Rs 25,000 assistance for pregnant women, interest free loan for women to start homestays, 33% reservation in government jobs, jobs for 8 lakh people, new medical colleges, 12,000 crore Hima Teerth project for temple related development, Waqf The manifesto included land eviction, taking over part of the GST liability of apple farmers.
∙ AAP without opening an account
AAP, which entered the fray with the confidence of coming to power in Punjab after Delhi, failed to win even a single seat in the state. Out of the total 68 seats, AAP fielded its candidate in 67 seats except Dharang in Mandi district. Under Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP entered the race challenging the BJP and Congress.
After the big victory in Punjab, there was a campaign that Aam Aadmi Party would make a big movement in this election, but it did not happen. The backlash was that it could not make enough impact in the state and the campaign was limited to isolated constituencies. The party campaigned in the state with an anti-corruption image. The campaign was said to be an alternative for those who are tired of BJP and Congress. However, the party’s organizational weakness, defections and inability to influence BJP-Congress voters backfired. AAP’s manifesto promised corruption-free governance, 300 units of free electricity, jobs for youth, unemployment allowance, support prices for agricultural produce, free education, health system, etc.
∙ Stoned rebels
Both the BJP and the Congress have been stonewalled in the elections due to insurgency. Many prominent leaders defected here and there. There were predictions that this time will be the time when the most rebels and independents will win in the history of Himachal. Congress expelled 6 rebel candidates ahead of the election. BJP also expelled 5 rebels. 19 BJP rebels and 8 Congress rebels were in the contest. PCC president Pratibha Singh expelled former Speaker Ganguram Muzaffir from the party for 6 years. BJP Himachal Vice President Kripal Parmar and others were expelled by the BJP.
Former Rajya Sabha member Kripal Singh Parmar contested from Fatehpur as an independent candidate after being denied a ticket by the BJP. Sanjay Prashar contested as an independent candidate from Jaswan Pragpur after the BJP did not issue tickets. Former BJP MLA Manohar Dhiman from Indore also contested as an independent candidate. Tejwant Singh Negi (Kinnaur), Kishori Lal (Anni) and KL Thakur (Nalagad) who were expelled by the BJP also contested as rebels. Ex-Speaker Ganguram Muzaffir, who was expelled from the Congress, contested as an independent candidate from Pachad against Dayal Pyari of the Congress who defected from the BJP. Hoshiar Singh, who contested from Dehra as an independent candidate in the last election, also contested as an independent candidate this time. He recently joined the BJP and this time he was hoping for a BJP ticket from Dehra but did not get it.
∙ Kanaalthari Ketu
In the last assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, the CPM, which waved a red flag in one seat, lost that seat this time. Congress’s Kuldeep Singh Rathore trailed CPM candidate Rakesh Singha who contested the sitting seat in Theog. Rakesh, who was relegated to the fourth position behind BJP candidate Ajay Shyam and independent candidate Indu Verma, managed to get around 12,000 votes. Theog is the only seat CPM won in 2017. On that day, Rakesh Singha defeated BJP’s Rakesh Verma and won about 25,000 votes. He got a majority of 1983 votes on that day with a vote share of 42.18. In 2012, when direct elections were held to the Shimla Municipal Corporation, the CPM won the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
English Summary: Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election 2022 Result