Shimla: Counting of votes for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections is underway and initial trends show a tough contest. According to the latest trends, Congress is leading in 40 seats, while the BJP is leading in 25 seats. In the 68-member Himachal Assembly, the majority mark is 35 and in case the contest is tight, the politics of manipulation can start. In such a situation, Congress has activated its strategists. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda have been roped in for crisis management.  

According to sources, the Congress MLAs may be kept in a hotel in Chandigarh or elsewhere. The Congress fears that if there is a gap of two or three seats, the BJP may try to break its MLAs. MlAs may be affected by the BJP being in power at the Centre. Along with this, there is also a tussle over the post of CM in Pratibha Singh and Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu. In such a situation, the BJP can take advantage of this and pursue them by luring some MLAs into the cabinet. This is the reason why Congress has already agreed to the results and is preparing a plan to save the MLAs.

In Himachal Pradesh, there has traditionally been a fight between the BJP and the Congress, but this time the close contest between the BJP and the Congress seems to be trapped in the power match in Himachal. Around 76.44 percent voting was recorded in all the 68 assembly seats in the state on November 12, in which the political fate of 412 candidates was captured in EVMs. Of these, 388 are male and 24 are female candidates.

BJP wins 1 seat in Himachal; Congress goes on to lead in 38 seats

'BJP trying to buy our councilors...', alleges Manish Sisodia

Expert: Chinese president's trip to Saudi Arabia will increase funding for the CPEC