Himachal Election Results: Congress leads with 43.9% vote share, not far behind BJP trails at 43%

In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress found itself in a better position leading with a vote share of over 40 per cent with the AAP at a dismal third with about one per cent vote share.

However, a dismal showing in the Gujarat polls comes as a big jolt for the party as it risks ceding the space of opposition in the state to the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP in a state which has been bi-party over the years.

However, the prospect of a Himachal Pradesh win had given the leaders of the party something to cheer about. The party, currently in power on its own only in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, is likely to add one more state, albeit a small one, to its kitty.

The likely victory will also be significant for the party especially because its electoral clout in the north has been on a decline for more than a decade now.

The Himachal Pradesh comeback is a "huge morale booster" because it has been able to reclaim the state despite a massive BJP election machinery, Jha said.

This should give the Congress hope for both 2023 and 2024 albeit a lot will depend upon how it recharges the party after the Bharat Jodo Yatra concludes, he told PTI.

A sterner test awaits the party with a slew of assembly polls next year including in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

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