BJP to sweep Himachal Pradesh with 38 seats, predicts ABP Exit Poll

NEW DELHI: ABP News-CSDS Exit Poll has predicted a defeat for Congress party in Himachal Pradesh elections. BJP is projected to win 38 out of 68 seats while the ruling-Congress party is slated to get 29. Other parties are managing to secure a single a seat in the hill state. The BJP is set to gather a vote share of 45% while the Congress is likely to garner 42% vote share. Others get a meager 13%. The results here are alarming for the Congress party as it is also appears to lose in Narendra Modi's home turf Gujarat. ALSO READ:  Gujarat elections exit poll: Clear majority for BJP with 117 seats, Congress way behind Over 72 per cent of 50.25 lakh electorate in Himachal Pradesh had exercised their franchise in the assembly elections on November 9 where the ruling Congress and the BJP were locked in a straight contest. The Congress has projected incumbent Virbhadra Singh as its Chief Ministerial candidate, while former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal is the BJP's. Both are contesting the elections. Despite the trends of ABP Exit Poll, the future of the arch-rivals will be pronounced on December 18, the day the votes cast will be counted along with those in Gujarat. During the campaigning, issues like development have been pushed to the background as personal attacks dominate most of the election rallies. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh, making his political debut, is in the fray for Shimla (Rural), the seat his father won in the last assembly elections. He's facing BJP's Pramod Sharma, a professor in Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla, who was once known for close proximity to Virbhadra Singh. (WATCH COMPLETE RESULTS OF HIMACHAL PRADESH EXIT POLL BELOW) The Congress won 36 of the 68 seats in Himachal Pradesh in 2012 with a 42.81 per cent vote share, while the BJP bagged 26 seats with a 38.47 per cent vote share. For the first time, Congress candidate Rajinder Rana, who has learnt political lessons for years from his once-mentor and two-time BJP Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, is now trying to 'teach' him a lesson through politics. Likewise, candidate Rajesh Kashyap, a doctor-turned-politician who joined the BJP just a few days before the polls were announced, has been pitted against his father-in-law and Congress candidate Dhani Ram Shandil, a cabinet Minister in the present government. Similarly placed is Congress legislator Anirudh Singh from Kasumpti, who has been pitted against his aunt and BJP candidate Vijay Jyoti Sen.