Guwahati: Jairam Thakur won in Himachal Pradesh’s Seraj assembly constituency by more than 20,000 votes for the sixth time in a row, according to the most recent data.
The 57-year-old Thakur wants to end the state’s custom of having “alternate governments” and remain chief minister.
The Seraj constituency falls under the Mandi parliamentary seat, which state Congress chief Pratibha Singh represents. She won it in a by-election.
Thakur has previously won five elections from Seraj, formerly known as the Chachiot constituency in 1998, 2003, 2007, 2012, and 2017. The BJP has controlled the district for the past 25 years.
Thakur defeated Ram in the 2017 assembly elections by a margin of more than 11,000 votes.
68 counting halls have been set up at 59 locations. Mobile phone, iPad, laptop, and other recording devices have been banned at the counting centres.
Voting began for the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh at eight in the morning. All of the counting centres have intricate arrangements in place. In Gujarat, there are now 37 counting centres with a total of 182 seats. 182 observers are among the more than 800 employees who have been dispatched for the counting at each counting table. Amicro observer, counting supervisor, and counting assistant are present. A video camera is recording the entire counting procedure.