The ruling BJP at the Centre got a shot in the arm as it emerged victorious in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, counting of votes for which was taken up at 08:00 a.m. this morning.

While Himachal Pradesh voted in the first fortnight of November and waited for more than a month for the counting of votes, Gujarat voted in two phases on 09th and 14th December.  Right from the first round of counting, trends which emerged in Gujarat indicated a close fight between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.  Early trends even indicated a hung Assembly.

By noon, the BJP had established clear leads in more than 100 constituencies and in at least 10 constituencies more than the magic number of 93.  Congress surged ahead in Sowrashtra but its leap wasn’t just adequate to replace the BJP, which is all set to form the Govt. for a sixth successive term albeit with less number of seats compared to the Assembly polls of 2007 and 2012.

In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly, the BJP was reportedly leading in 42 seats and is all set to secure a two-thirds majority.  It had won 24 out of the 35 seats for which results were declared as of now.  Congress, which gained in Gujarat, is losing power in Himachal Pradesh as a BJP-led Govt. is all set to take over now.