Counting of votes begins for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections

Counting of votes began at 8 am for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.

By 9 am, we will know the first trends regarding who will rule them for the next five years.

The results, which will forecast the fortunes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi 15 months ahead of Lok Sabha polls, either way, will have a huge impact on national politics. It would set the tone for the Assembly elections in mid-2018, including in Karnataka, while also indicating whether Modi would think of preponing the Lok Sabha elections by 6-7 months, as speculated by some quarters.

Exit polls have given the BJP a comfortable edge in Gujarat, where it



is predicted to retain power, and in Himachal Pradesh where it is expected to dethrone Congress.

All eyes will be on Gujarat where both Modi and Gandhi, who took over as Congress chief on Saturday, campaigned vigorously. The campaign saw Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah targeting the Congress on issues like Ram Temple and allegations of Congress leaders using Pakistan to influence polls while Gandhi attacked Modi for not talking about development.

At least eight exit polls have suggested a clear victory for BJP with 99 to 146 seats in 182-member Gujarat Assembly. Analysts, however, said the Congress is likely to fare better than what the pollsters have predicted (36 to 82 seats).