From incumbent BJP chief minister Jairam Thakur to the Congress' Vikramaditya Singh, the fate of many heavyweight candidates in Himachal Pradesh is being decided as the counting of votes for the state assembly elections is underway.
Among the many big names in the electoral fray, some are facing tough challenges by less prominent names, while others are appearing to stand up to their reputation.
So, which of Himachal Pradesh's big netas are leading and which of them are trailing? Save this link and follow the interactive, as we update the leads real-time for all the key constituencies in Himachal Pradesh mentioned below.
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Like previous elections, the old political warhorses – the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress – are locked in a head-to-head battle in most of the state's 68 Assembly constituencies.
The Big Netas
Chief Minister Jairam Thakur is contesting from Mandi's Seraj constituency. He is facing Congress' Amee Yagnik and AAP's Vijay Patel.
In Una's Haroli, incumbent Congress MLA and leader of opposition in Himachal Pradesh assembly, Mukesh Agnihotri, is facing BJP's Ramkumar and AAP's Ravinder Pal Singh Mann.
Former president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, Sukhwinder Sukhu, is in the fray to save his Nadaun seat from BJP's Vijay Agnihotri and AAP's Shanky Thukral.
Another high-profile candidate from Congress, Vikramaditya Singh, son of the former chief minister of Late Virbhadra Singh, is looking for reelection from Shimla Rural.
Other Congress heavyweights include Asha Kumari from Dalhousie and Dhaniram Shandil from Solan.
Himachal Pradesh's health minister Rajiv Saizal is another key BJP leader who is looking for reelection from Kasauli.
BJP's Govind Singh Thakur is also looking to extend his three-term winning streak from Manali.
Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s incumbent MLA from Shimla's Theog constituency, Rakesh Singha is another big name to look out for.
The 2022 Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election
The 2022 election for the 68 seat Himachal Pradesh assembly has been a hard-fought one. A total of over 55 lakh registered voters polled in 7,884 polling stations spread across the hilly state in a single polling phase, on 12 November.
In all, there were 412 candidates in the fray, including 24 women candidates and 99 independents.
According to the state election commission, of the total 55,74,793 registered voters in the state, 27,28,555 are female voters and 28,46,201 are male voters. There are also 37 voters of the third gender.
With over 75% voter turnout in Himachal Pradesh Assembly election on November 12, the state recorded the highest voting in its history. Himachal Pradesh has seen a steady rise in each subsequent Assembly election since the State first went to the polls in 1951. The record voter turnout in Himachal Pradesh in these Assembly elections was an increase of over 200% compared to the 25.26% voter turnout in the first state assembly election of 1951.
In the 2017 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, BJP had won 44 seats and then chief miniter Virbhadra Singh-led Congress could secure only 21 seats. After BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal lost his seat, the party appointed Jai Ram Thakur the chief minister of the state.
Himachal Pradesh has witnessed the pattern of alternative parties — BJP and Congress, winning the elections since 1982.
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