(LiveMint)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday wrested power from the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, securing a simple majority by winning 44 seats in the 68-member assembly. The Congress, which fought Himachal elections under the leadership of Virbhadra Singh, ended with a seat tally of 21 seats, while three seats went to other parties.
Despite the BJP’s spectacular performance, its chief ministerial face Prem Kumar Dhumal lost his Sujanpur seat to Congress rival Rajinder Singh Rana by about 3,500 votes. Main rivals BJP and Congress contested all the 68 seats at stake. The hill state had witnessed a record 75.28% voter turnout. Voters in Himachal Pradesh have traditionally brought the Congress and the BJP in power alternately.
A look at the final seat tally put out by the Election Commission after Himachal election results 2017:
| Party | Seat Tally |
| BJP | 44 |
| Congress | 21 |
| Others | 03 |
| Total | 68 |
