BJP legislature party meet in Shimla on Dec 29
{image-HP
Map_29122007.jpg
news.oneindia.in}
Shimla,
Dec
29:
The
newly-elected
BJP
MLAs
in
Himachal
Pradesh
will
meet
here
today,
and
is
expected
to
formally
elect
Prem
Kumar
Dhumal
as
their
leader.
Party"s
chief-ministerial
candidate
Dhumal
is
later
expected
to
meet
State
Governor
VS
Kokje
to
stake
claim
for
forming
the
next
government
in
the
state.
Dhumal
won
from
Bamsan
in
Hamirpur
district,
defeating
Congress
candidate
Col
(R)
BC
Lagwal
by
26,000
votes.
Dhumal, who is likely to take the oath of office on Sunday, will become state"s chief minister for the second time. After winning nearly two-third seats in Gujarat earlier this week, the BJP scored a comfortable victory yesterday in Himachal Pradesh, bagging 41 seats in the 68-member Assembly. The party has returned to power in the state after a gap of five years. This was its best performance in the state, with having increased its vote share by nearly 12 per cent.
On the other hand, the Congress won 23 seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won one seat. Independents bagged the remaining three seats.
Buoyed by the results in the two states, BJP leaders warned that it showed that the Congress was bound to lose Lok Sabha elections in 2009. But, the Congress downplayed its defeat in Himachal Pradesh, citing “anti-incumbency" as the single largest factor that went against it.
Incumbent
Chief
Minister
Virbhadra
Singh
retained
Rohru
in
Shimla
District
winning
by
a
margin
of
14,000
votes.
The
term
of
the
68-member
State
Assembly
is
to
end
on
March
9,
2008.
ANI
>