BJP raced to its best-ever result in Gujarat, with the AAP cutting into Congress votes, as votes were counted today in two states. In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress is leading comfortably now after a neck-and-neck fight with BJP in early trends.

The BJP is ahead in 158 seats in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. The Congress, which delivered a strong performance in the last election, is leading in 16 seats -- about 60 down from its 2017 tally.
Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, which was eyeing a big entry into the Gujarat political landscape with this election, is ahead in five seats. Gujarat has 182 seats and the majority mark stands at 92.

In Himachal Pradesh, which has 68 seats, the BJP took an early lead but the Congress overtook it after an hour of counting. Currently, the Congress is leading in 40 seats and the BJP is ahead in 26. Congress's Himachal in-charge Rajiv Shukla has told the media that if the party's tally stays at 39, "there is no fear of Operation Lotus".

Source: NDTV

BDST: 1804 HRS, DEC 8, 2022
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