NEW DELHI: Just an hour after the counting of votes started  for the Assembly elections, the BJP is leading in both Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, as per the latest trends.

Around 9.44 a.m., as per the official website of the Election Commission, the BJP was leading in Gujarat with 98 Assembly seats, followed by the Congress with 17 seats and the AAP with 10.

At 8 a.m., the counting in Gujarat's 37 centres got underway under tight security. 2,94,64,326 votes were cast in Gujarat's general elections of 2017 with a turnout of 68.39%. In this, the BJP received 1,47,24,031 votes, garnering a 49.05 percent vote share, and winning 99 seats. The Congress received 1,24,37,661 votes, a 41.4% vote share, and 77 seats.

The AAP is certainly denting Congress votes on a huge scale, as per early trends. In addition to Arjun Modhwadia, senior leader of the Congress, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Minister of State for the Interior Harsh Sanghvi were leading.

The BJP and Congress are in a tight race in Himachal Pradesh. As per latest trends, the BJP was in the lead in 31 Assembly districts while the Congress was in the lead on 23 seats. On three seats, independents were in the lead.
On November 12, the high-stakes election for Himachal Pradesh was held, deciding the electoral future of 412 candidates, including 24 women. Voter turnout increased from 75.57 percent in 2017 to 75.60 percent in 2018.

The results will determine the political fate of BJP leader and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and his ten  ministerial colleagues, besides Congress Legislature Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri and former state Congress chief Sukhwinder Sukhu.

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