The massive voting in Himachal Pradesh on 12 November is being seen as a danger bell for ruling saffron party according to political analysts. There had been about 75 percent voting in Himachal Pradesh in all the 12 districts with Simla electorates casting about 54 % votes as an exception. However, the votes of the army men through post ballots are yet to come and may further enhance the polling percent crossing 75% votes.
If we broadly analyse the previous 13 assembly elections of Himachal Pradesh, there had usually been the trend of changing the present ruling party with electorates preferring for change as was the case in Uttarakhand since the last 22 years except this time when the myth was broken and BJP came to power in 2022, securing 47 seats, though ten less than the previous tally.
However, if we see the results of 2017 the voting percentage was 75 . 26 % almost equal to the present time, but then the BJP which was in opposition had won 44 assembly seats and Congress 21 only.
This result of 2017 had unambiguously followed the continuing trend of voting against the then ruling party Congress and then CM Vir Bhadra Singh bringing BJP to power.
Encouraged by the past trend of change and voting being bumper, almost 75%, the Congress party seems to be in high spirits feeling highly convinced of its sure sort victory in view of the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities and the anti incumbency factor in the state already existing.
However, If we go by the hectic campaigning of BJP they have quite an upper hand as the prime minister Narendra Modi addressed several well attended public meetings followed by meetings of union HM Amit Shah and J. P. Nadda and battery of other leaders too with no dearth of funds.
However, in the case of Congress Rahul Gandhi due to his involvement in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he could not devote any time in Himachal Pradesh leading to annoyance n frustration of the state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, wife of former CM Veer Bhadra Singh, though the star campaigner of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi did campaigned extensively in the himalayan state attracting huge crowds.
Similarly in Gujarat the Congressmen have expressed the dire need of Rahul Gandhi and have urged him to divert his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Madhya Pradesh to Gujarat till the elections come to an end.
The Saffron party leaders rebuff the political analysts prediction saying that the bumper voting in HP has actually been the vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi not Congress as in 2017 the poll percentage was almost the same and the BJP had won forming it’s government. Kindly recall that in Himachal Pradesh there are in all 68 assembly seats and ti form a government 35 seats majority is mandatory.
