Record 73.23 percent voter turnout in Himachal Pradesh assembly elections

Una and Kullu districts were also very close to Solan with 76.69% and 76.15% turnout. Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, saw a turnout of 69.88%.

Since 1982, the hill state has been choosing an alternate government between the Congress and the BJP, and in this year’s election, the ruling BJP stressed the need to change that tradition. Even leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah Appealed to the people of the state to change the trend by re-electing the BJP like Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh which had a similar trend in the recent elections.

The current elections are also different as the main stalwarts of both the BJP and the Congress were not a part of these elections. Former chief minister and Congress leader Virbhadra Singh passed away in 2017, while former BJP chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal did not contest the election after losing his seat last time.

During its campaign, the Congress party emphasized on the issues of old pension scheme, lack of development in the state, not getting the right price for apple farmers, corruption in recruitment etc. The BJP in the bypolls held last year is an indication that the people are demanding a change in the state.

The BJP attacked the Congress on issues like nepotism and how the progress of Himachal Pradesh was stalled during its rule. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister continuously attacked the Congress on the issue of ‘mother-son duo’.

The entry of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also changed a lot of dynamics in the state and both BJP and Congress will suffer some loss of its vote share. The AAP factor is not prevalent, but like in other regions of India, people are willing to give a chance to the Third Front.