News
EC declares final results of HP Election 2017: People elect BJP but reject its CM candidate Dhumal
Prominent leaders like Prakash Chaudhary, Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Kaul Singh Thakur, Ravinder Ravi, Satpal Satti, Maheshwar Singh, Sudhir Sharma, and Viplov Thakur faced the wrath of people and lost the elections.
Shimla: Finally, after a wait of 40 days since the polling day, the results of the elections held to the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh on November 9, 2017, were officially announced by the Elections Commission of India.
True to its traditional trend of ousting ruling party every five years, the people of Himachal gave the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) its turn to prove itself.
BJP dethroned the ruling Congress Government by claiming a thumping victory on 44 seats (67.7%) out of total 68, which gives a full majority to the saffron party. On the other hand, Congress was reduced to 21 (30.9%)as compared to 36 in 2017 assembly elections. Two seats (4.4%) went to the two independent candidates contesting from Dehra and Jogindernagar and one to CPM’s Rakesh Singha.
Source: Elections Commission
Scroll to the bottom of the article for constituency wise list of winning candidates/parties
However, as an ironical event for the BJP, its Chief Ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal was decimated as he was defeated by Congress’ Rajinder Rana from the Sujanpur constituency with a margin of approximately 3,500 votes. Clearly, the people have voted for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not for BJP’s Dhumal. It could mean an end of the political career for Dhumal.
Personal loss is not of much importance.The gain that victory has brought to state BJP is important. Thankful to people of the state for voting for BJP. In politics, sometimes one wins, sometimes one loses. I was not expecting to lose, I will do an analysis: PK Dhumal #Himachal pic.twitter.com/7UrumoxVhp
— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017
Not only Dhumal but the party’s state unit president Satpal Singh Satti was also defeated by Congress’s Satpal Sigh Raizada in Una constituency. Now, the BJP will have to find another candidate for the CM’s chair.
It implies that the people have approved the policies of Modi like the demonetization, introduction of Good Services Tax (GST), an even the undemocratic tricks it played in the money bill it had passed earlier this year.
Also, the BJP’s Hindutva card had its ramifications in Gujarat, but not in Himachal as the share of votes in Gujarat dropped below 100 as compared to 155 in previous elections.
Moreover, the BJP has invested heavily in campaigning. Against about 70 rallies of the Congress, BJP was far ahead with near about 200 rallies for the current elections.
Another major re-shuffle was reported from the Theog constituency, where the CPI (M) candidate and former MLA Rakesh Singh emerged as the people’s choice. The left felt its presence again after a gap of 24 years.
The Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh (83) and his son Vikramaditya (29), who fought his first elections to the HP Legislative Assembly, attained victory on the Ark and Shimla-Rural seat respectively. Virbhadra defeated Rattan Singh Pal and won with a margin of 6,024 votes.
He attained victory owing to his influence that he gained while ruling the state in 1983, 1990, 1993, 2003, and 2012. The corruption charges did not affect Virbhadra but proved fatal for the Congress.
हमें जनादेश स्वीकार है लेकिन हमने हिमाचल का भरपूर विकास किया है,भाजपा का जनबल नहीं बल्कि धनबल उनके काम आया, लोकतंत्र में तंत्र से कहीं महत्वपूर्ण है लोक, और हमने लोगों के विकास के लिए हर संभव कोशिश की है, इतने वर्षों तक सेवा का अवसर देने के लिए मैं हिमचलवासियों का कृतज्ञ हूँ
— Virbhadra Singh (@virbhadrasingh) December 18, 2017
If it was the last elections for Virbhadra Singh, the exceptional political career of Virbhadra Singh concluded at a note of defeat of his party. However, the fact that Virbhadra managed to gain a victory for his son would before his retirement is likely compensate for this defeat of his government.
Vikramaditya defeated BJP’s Pramod Sharma by 4850 votes in the battle for the Shimla-rural seat.
I accept the victory of BJP. I, being the CM, take full responsibility of our performance here. I hope Vikramaditya (Singh) keeps winning in future, like he won today: Virbhadra Singh #HimachalPradesh pic.twitter.com/ImNkW32qdy
— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017
Notorious politician and sitting Congress MLA Bambar Singh Thakur also faced a defeat.
The first official result was declared for the Kasumpti constituency, where Anirudh Singh defeated BJP’s Vijay Jyoti by a margin of 9,397 votes.
Interesingly, the BJP has registered victory in regions where Rahul Gandhi has held rallies for the Congress.
The Congress party accepts the verdict of the people and congratulates the new governments in both states. I thank the people of Gujarat and Himachal with all my heart for the love they showed me.
— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) December 18, 2017
A total of 377 candidates contested for 68 seats. While the BJP and Congress fielded candidates on all seats, the BSP contested on 42 seats followed by the CPI(M) at 14, the Swabhiman party and the Lok Gatbhandhan Party six each.
Over 33,000 (.9%) voters in Himachal pressed NOTA.
Biggest jolt for the Congress came from Mandi district where 9 seats out of total 10 were won by the BJP candidates and the remaining one went to the Indpendent candidate contesting from Jogindernagar.
Also, in Nagrota constituency, BJP’s Arun Kumar defeated Congress’s influential leader GS Bali by 519 votes. Other close battles included six seats where the margins were reported to be below 1,000 votes.
I’ll always stand with govt, whichever party it might be of, & serve people. As a son I am sad we couldn’t make it possible for him (Virbhadra Singh) to become the CM 7th time. We’ll analyse our drawbacks in meeting: Vikramaditya Singh, leading in Shimla Rural #HimachalElections pic.twitter.com/GEV1CTnQfQ
— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017
Prominent leaders like Prakash Chaudhary, Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Kaul Singh Thakur, Ravinder Ravi, Satpal Satti, Maheshwar Singh, Sudhir Sharma, and Viplov Thakur faced the wrath of people and lost the elections.
The counting of votes was held at 48 centres for 68 seats. The BJP was leading since the counting begun today morning, and its workers had begun the celebration by 11 am without waiting for the final results.
I bow to the people of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for their affection and trust in BJP. I assure them that we will leave no stone unturned in furthering the development journey of these states and serve the people tirelessly
, Tweeted PM Modi.
The corruption charges against Virbhadra Singh being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation, recent law and order issues, and lousy governance went against the Congress. So, this time people want Virbhadra Singh and his son, but not Congress.
Similarly, the people want the BJP to form the government, but not under the leadership of PK Dhumal.
Further, to the reports of the temerping with EVMs, the Elections Commission said,
EVMs cannot be manipulated in any way. I want to urge everyone to ignore rumours on this matter. The election conducted through EVMs & VVPAT are completely unbiased: Pushpendra Rajput, Chief Electoral Officer of Himachal Pradesh #ElectionResults2017 pic.twitter.com/x2qikY8Tqa
— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017
Constituency-wise list of winners
Anni – Kishori Lal – BJP
Arki – Virbhadra Singh – INC
Baijnath – Mulkh Raj – BJP
Balh – Inder Singh – BJP
Banjar – Surender Shourie – BJP
Barsar – Inder Dutt Lakhanpal – INC
Bharmour – Jia Lal – BJP
Bhattiyat – Bikram Singh Jaryal – BJP
Bhoranj – Kamlesh Kumari – BJP
Bilaspur – Subhash Thakur – BJP
Chamba – Pawan Nayyar – BJP
Chintpurni – Balbir Singh – BJP
Chopal – Balbir Singh Verma – BJP
Churah – Hans Raj – BJP
Dalhousie – Asha Kumari – INC
Darang – Jawahar Thakur – BJP
Dehra – Hoshyar Singh – Independent
Dharampur – Mahender Singh – BJP
Dharamshala – Kishan Kapoor – BJP
Doon – Paramjeet Singh – BJP
Fatehpur – Sujan Singh Pathania – INC
Gagret – Rajesh Thakur – BJP
Ghumarwin – Rajinder Garg – BJP
Hamirpur – Narinder Thakur – BJP
Haroli – Mukesh Agnihotri – INC
Indora – Reeta Devi – BJP
Jaisinghpur – Ravinder Kumar – BJP
Jaswan-Pragpur – Bikram Singh – BJP
Jawalamukhi – Ramesh Chand Dhawala – BJP
Jawali – Arjun Singh – BJP
Jhanduta – Jeet Ram Katwal – BJP
Jogindernagar – Prakash Rana – Independent
Jubbal-Kotkhai – Narinder Bragta – BJP
Kangra – Pawan Kumar Kajal – INC
Karsog – Hira Lal – BJP
Kasauli – Rajiv Saizal – BJP
Kasumpti – Anirudh Singh – INC
Kinnaur – Jagat Singh Negi – INC
Kullu – Sunder Singh Thakur – INC
Kutlehar – Virender Kanwar – BJP
Lahaul & Spiti – Dr. Ram Lal Markanda – BJP
Manali – Govind Singh Thakur – BJP
Mandi – Anil Sharma – BJP
Nachan – Vinod Kumar – BJP
Nadaun – Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu – INC
Nagrota – Arun Kumar – BJP
Nahan – Dr. Rajeev Bindal – BJP
Nalagarh – Lakhvinder Singh Rana – INC
Nurpur – Rakesh Pathania – BJP
Pachhad – Suresh Kumar Kashyap – BJP
Palampur – Ashish Butail – INC
Paonta Sahib – Sukh Ram – BJP
Rampur – Nand Lal – INC
Rohru – Mohan Lal Brakta – INC
Sarkaghat – Inder Singh – BJP
Seraj – Jai Ram Thakur – BJP
Shahpur – Sarveen Choudhary – BJP
Shillai – Harshwardhan Chauhan – INC
Shimla – Suresh Bhardwaj – BJP
Shimla Rural – Vikramaditya Singh – INC
Solan – Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil – INC
Sri Naina Deviji – Ram Lal Thakur – INC
Sri Renukaji – Vinay Kumar – INC
Sujanpur – Rajinder Rana – INC
Solan—In a shocking incident on Monday, an 18-year-old youth, Pravesh, survived a vicious leopard attack in Sarli village of Arki subdivision. The teenager reportedly fought the leopard for nearly 12 minutes before breaking its jaw, killing the animal on the spot.
Quick Thinking Saved His Life
Pravesh told the media that he was walking from the fields to a nearby shop in the morning to fetch milk when the leopard, hidden in the crops, lunged at him. Noticing the leopard’s tail, he attempted to run but fell after a short distance. During the attack, he covered his neck with his hands to protect himself from fatal bites.
The teenager continued to struggle with the leopard, repeatedly attempting to put distance between himself and the predator. In a desperate move, he grabbed the leopard by its mouth, twisted its jaw, and broke it, killing the animal instantly. Pravesh sustained multiple injuries, including deep claw marks, and is currently receiving treatment at Arki Hospital. Police and forest department teams have launched an investigation into the incident.
Serious Allegations of HP Forest Department’s Negligence
One of Pravesh’s relatives accused the forest department of negligence, noting that similar attacks had occurred in the area previously.
Earlier, a leopard had attempted to attack a scooter rider, who managed to escape. The family said they had informed the forest department on March 6 about potential danger, but no concrete action was taken. Villagers waited for three hours for a forest team to arrive, but none came. When the Block Officer eventually visited, he reportedly told villagers to ensure their own safety. Requests for cages to capture the leopard were also denied, with officials asking for written complaints instead.
SHIMLA | 7 August 2025 –The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rainfall across Himachal Pradesh over the next two weeks, with isolated heavy to very heavy showers likely over the low hills, plains, and adjoining mid-hill regions. While the ongoing monsoon remains vital for agriculture, it also brings an elevated risk of localized flooding and landslides.
Week of August 8–14
Maximum temperatures will range from 22°C to 34°C, depending on elevation—22°C to 28°C in high hills, 26°C to 30°C in mid-hills, and up to 34°C in lower regions. Minimum temperatures are expected to remain near normal, between 12°C and 24°C. Cooler conditions may persist in districts like Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti.
Week of August 15–21
Similar rainfall patterns are expected to continue, with scattered heavy rain episodes. Temperature trends will remain stable, though slightly below-normal maximum temperatures are likely in parts of Lahaul-Spiti, Mandi, Kangra, and Kullu districts.
Outlook for Late August
Rainfall is expected to remain broadly normal, with region-specific variations. Districts such as Kinnaur, Shimla, and Sirmaur may see below-normal precipitation, while Una, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, and Solan are likely to receive above-average rainfall. Both maximum and minimum temperatures are forecast to stay close to seasonal norms.
Officials at the Meteorological Centre in Shimla have urged residents and local authorities to remain alert for sudden heavy downpours, which could disrupt road connectivity and trigger landslides—especially along vulnerable hillside routes. Past monsoon episodes have blocked key highways, including routes between Mandi and Kullu and near Banjar, underscoring the ongoing challenges in the region.
This advisory comes as Himachal Pradesh continues to face the dual pressures of sustaining its agriculture-dependent economy while managing the life and infrastructure risks posed by an active monsoon. Continued vigilance and preparedness remain crucial.
SHIMLA | 7 August 2025 –Himachal Pradesh continues to deal with the impacts of the 2025 monsoon season, reporting extensive property damage, loss of lives, and widespread disruptions across the state. According to the official reports from the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), the Department of Revenue, and the India Meteorological Department, from June 20 to August 6, 2025, heavy monsoon rains caused significant damage across multiple districts:
- Casualties: 199 deaths due to landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, drowning, lightning, electrocution, and accidents; 304 injuries reported.
- Property Loss: Extensive damage to houses (both pucca and kaccha), shops, factories, labor sheds, animal shelters, and substantial crop losses in agriculture and horticulture.
- Public Infrastructure: Over ₹1,900 crore in damages to roads (including PWD), power supply, health, education, fisheries, rural and urban development, and animal husbandry.
Most affected districts include Mandi, Kangra, and Hamirpur, with severe crop and infrastructure losses.
Additionally, 91 deaths occurred due to monsoon-related road accidents.
Public Utilities and Infrastructure Disruptions
The SEOC report dated August 7, 2025, highlights ongoing disruptions:
- Roads Blocked: About 493 major roads and 3 national highways (NH-305, NH-21, NH-05) remain blocked by landslides and floods.
- Power Supply: Disruption of 1,120 distribution transformers (DTRs).
- Water Supply: 245 water schemes affected, threatening access to potable water for communities.
Key blockages include NH-21 between Mandi and Kullu and NH-305 near Banjar and Jhed.
Weather Forecast and Warnings
The India Meteorological Department’s forecast valid from August 7, 2025, includes:
- Isolated heavy rainfall expected throughout the week.
- Thunderstorms and lightning predicted in isolated areas.
- Minimum temperatures near normal or slightly below.
- Maximum temperatures showing a moderate increase.
The public is urged to remain vigilant due to the risks of further landslides and flash floods.
Himachal Pradesh remains vulnerable as the monsoon season continues, with thousands affected by damage, displacement, and disruption of essential services. Authorities are continuing with rescue and recovery operations and are urging residents to stay alert to the ongoing adverse weather. This situation highlights the pressing need for enhanced infrastructure and disaster management strategies to mitigate monsoon-related risks.
Himachal’s LPG Supply Hit Amid Global Tensions, Likely to Affect Hospitality Industry
Himachal Teen Survives 12-Minute Leopard Attack, Kills Predator in Self-Defense
Weather Forecast for Himachal Pradesh For the Next Two Weeks
Monsoon 2025: Himachal Pradesh Suffers 199 Casualties, Over ₹1,905.50 Cr in Damages
Home Decor Ideas 2020