The Independents won from three constituencies and the Aam Aadmi Party, which had contested from 67 seats, failed to open its account.
The Congress wrested Himachal Pradesh from the BJP, winning 40 seats in the 68-member Assembly in the hill state which maintained its tradition of voting incumbent government out of power since 1985. Meanwhile, the AAP, which contested the assembly polls in Himachal for the first time, met a crushing and a humiliating defeat.
The BJP won 25 seats, while eight state ministers including Suresh Bhardwaj, Ram Lal Markanda and Surveen Chaudhary lost. The Independents won from three constituencies and the Aam Aadmi Party, which had contested from 67 seats, failed to open its account.
Out of the 67 candidates, it had fielded, none could win, including former Lok Sabha member Rajan Sushant, who had contested from the Fatehpur constituency in Kangra district.
In fact, all the AAP contestants lost their security deposits as not even one could secure minimum one-sixth (16.7 per cent) of the total valid votes and led to forfeiture of their security deposit.
The party failed to perform even in constituencies bordering Punjab, where it had registered a thumping victory earlier this year, outclassing the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal.
The AAP started off with an aggressive campaign in the hill state, with party chief Arvind Kejriwal carrying out roadshows. However, it later surrendered midway and was conspicuously absent while the BJP and Congress were holding rallies.
In its pre-poll promises for the hill state, the Aam Aadmi Party had promised unemployment allowance to the jobless and free pilgrimages to the elderly. It also ensured a corruption-free government, but none of these guarantees could woo the voters for it.
For the Congress, raising local issues, especially the demand for restoration of the Old Pension Scheme, worked for it to wrest power from the BJP. It also raised the issues of unemployment, price rise and perceived public resentment against the Agniveer recruitment scheme. The party prepared a strategy regarding its manifesto and poll promises.
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 "Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann - File Image")
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