Describing the victory of the Congress in Himachal Pradesh as a rejection of the policies of the BJP, the Congress on Thursday said it was a 'vote of confidence' for it. "'The victory is a rejection of the policies of the BJP by the people of Himachal Pradesh," Congress general secretary and in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Chaudhry Birendra Singh told reporters here after the results of the counting indicated a big lead for the party in the assembly polls.

According to initial trends, the Congress is leading in over 40 seats in the 68-member state assembly.

Union finance minister P Chidambaram said: "People have given us a resounding vote of confidence."

Reacting to the Himachal results, parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said: "The BJP's defeat shows the direction in which the wind is blowing.''