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Himachal poll outcome will be a setback for saffron party: Congress
Himachal Congress vice-president Naresh Chauhan said his party will not get less than 42 seats out of the total 68 in the state assembly
A day after the exit polls, the Congress on Tuesday exuberated confidence that it will form the government in Himachal Pradesh with respectful numbers.
“In any case, the Congress will not get less than 42 seats out of the total 68 in the Himachal Pradesh assembly. Our own survey besides the feedback from people after the polling has shown that our seat share can go up,” Naresh Chauhan, party’s HP vice-president, said in a press conference in Shimla.
Chauhan, however, said he would not comment on the trends shown in the exit polls on Himachal elections.
“It is not a new thing and all news channels do it in every election. These are susceptible to errors. There is always a question mark on the sample size and accuracy of the exit polls,” he added.
The Congress leader said that many exit polls have shown the BJP winning in Himachal while some have given more seats to the Congress.
“The BJP’s happiness over the exit polls would be short-lived as the Congress will emerge victorious in HP assembly elections this time when the results come out tomorrow,” he added.
Chauhan said the response of the people showed that they have voted for change in the government in Himachal.
“Heavy voter turnout in Himachal strongly indicates that people were unhappy and up against the Jai Ram government as it failed to fulfil its poll promises. People came out in large numbers to vote for change,” he said.
The Congress vice-president said that people of Himachal had already exhibited their anger against the government in the by-elections for three assembly constituencies and one parliament seat last year when the ruling party lost all of them.
He claimed that it was for the first time in the history of elections that any ruling party in the state lost by-elections.
