Indian Hindu Nationalist Captures Power In Himachal Pradesh

Shimla, India (December 28, 2007): Prem Kumar Dhumal-led Himachal Pradesh Bhartiya Janta Party is all set to form next government after gaining simple majority. BJP secured 35 seats out of 59 in 68-seated state legislature.

Dhumal, Virbhadra Win

Incumbent Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh won the Rohru seat with 15,000 margin, while Dhumal defeated Congress candidate with margin of 26,000 votes in Bamsan assembly seat.

Countdown Began

Looking in upbeat mood, Bhartiya Janta Party’s spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh verdicts showed that countdown started for Congress and UPA. BJP-led alliance NDA would form next government at Union level. “The victory is not limited to Himachal and Gujarat. It is a trailer of Lok Sabha elections," Swaraj told media persons in New Delhi.

No Linkage

Refusing any link between Gujarat and HP election verdicts, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said that there was no communal polarization in the Himachal Pradesh which was witnessed in the Gujarat.