SHIMLA: The Congress was leading the initial vote count in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election. It crossed the half-way mark and was leading in 38 seats at around 11.45 a.m. The ruling BJP was leading in 33 seats earlier but, gradually slid to 26 and had won one seat, while the independents were leading in 3 constituencies.

Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra, Hiteshwar Singh from Banjar in Kullu, and Ashish from Hamirpur Sadar, formerly the bastion of twice-elected chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, are independents and all BJP rebels.

Early trends in the ballot count showed the Congress leading in the 68-member Assembly because Himachal Pradesh has not elected an incumbent administration to office in nearly 40 years.

Jai Ram Thakur, the 57-year-old chief minister, triumphed in the Mandi district's Seraj, his stronghold. Mukesh Agnihotri, 60, and Sukhvinder Sukhu, 58, are two well-known Congress leaders who are in charge from the Haroli and Nadaun seats, respectively.

The majority of exit polls indicated a close race between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is contesting the Assembly elections for the first time, has been absent from the state while its leaders concentrate on growing its support base in Gujarat.

Rebels who had severed links with the mainstream parties have been holding "in-door" parleys with the conviction that there is no permanent enemy or friend in politics as they sense a neck-and-neck race between the BJP and the Congress.

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