A landslide, repeated
What happened
Bharatiya Janata Party won power in Himachal Pradesh, defeating Indian National Congress's outgoing government in a landslide result.
It won 44 of the 68 seats on offer.
That left it 9 seats clear of a majority.
BJP took 64.7% of the seats on 48.8% of the vote.
INC fell to 21 seats on 41.7% of the vote.
The campaign
On 29 August 2017 the CBI arrested Himachal Pradesh's Inspector General Zahur Zaidi and seven other police officers, months after a 16-year-old girl was raped and murdered near Kotkhai and a suspect died in their custody.1
On 1 October 2017 the opposition BJP, led by Prem Kumar Dhumal, released a video chargesheet, "Vidhayak Ji Jawab Do", listing allegations against sitting Congress legislators.2
The Election Commission announced on 12 October that voting would be held in a single phase on 9 November, with counting on 18 December.3
On 18 October the BJP named its candidate list, including 21 new faces. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley released its manifesto, "Swarnim Himachal Drishti Patra", in Shimla on 29 October.45
On 1 November, BJP president Amit Shah named Dhumal, a two-time former chief minister, as the party's chief ministerial face at a rally in Rajgarh. The same day, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh released Congress's manifesto in Shimla, promising 1.5 lakh government jobs and 50,000 free laptops.67
- 1CBI Arrests Himachal IG and Seven Police Personnel in Kotkhai Custodial Death — What is the 2017 Kotkhai custodial death case that led to life term for Himachal IGP, 7 other cops, Kotkhai case
- 2BJP Releases Video 'Chargesheet' Against Congress MLAs — 'Politics of chargesheet' generates winter heat
- 3Election Commission Announces Single-Phase Himachal Pradesh Poll Schedule — Himachal elections on Nov 9, result on Dec 18
- 4BJP Announces Candidate List with 21 New Faces — 2017 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election
- 5Arun Jaitley Releases BJP's Himachal Manifesto — BJP Releases Manifesto for Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections
- 6Amit Shah Names Prem Kumar Dhumal as BJP's Chief Ministerial Face — QBullet: Shivraj Not Named in Vyapam, Dhumal BJP's CM Face in HP
- 7Virbhadra Singh Releases Congress's Himachal Manifesto — Jobs, free laptops, soft loans in Cong manifesto, 2017 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election
What changed
Himachal Pradesh's two largest parties swapped places again, a shift that touched much of the state.
The single biggest movement ran from INC to BJP, covering 23 of the 38 seats that changed hands.
BJP itself grew from 26 seats to 44 seats this time.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, rose +1.9 pp from the previous election — the highest the state had recorded to that point.
Notable numbers
The closest race was at Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, decided by 120 votes.
Nachan, Himachal Pradesh was the most one-sided result of the count, a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of 25.8%.
Doon, Himachal Pradesh recorded the highest turnout of any seat, at 89.3%.
Sullah, Himachal Pradesh was the largest constituency by registered voters, with 96,145 on its rolls.
Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh drew the most candidates of any seat, 12 names on the ballot.
NOTA — None of the Above, a ballot option letting voters formally reject every candidate on offer — drew 34,232 votes statewide, 0.9% of the total.
The backdrop
Himachal Pradesh became India's 18th state on 25 January 1971, when Parliament's State of Himachal Pradesh Act, 1970, converted the union territory into a full state.8
Its assembly's next general election followed in 1972, contested under an enlarged 68-seat house.8
- 8Himachal Pradesh Becomes India's 18th State — State of Himachal Pradesh Act, 1970, 1972 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election