BJP set to sweep Himachal Pradesh, may get 39-45 seats: ABP News opinion poll

NEW DELHI: The BJP is all set to dethrone Congress from power in Himachal Pradesh and sweep the upcoming Assembly elections, opinion poll conducted by Lokniti-CSDS for ABP News has found. According to the survey, BJP is expected get 39-45 seats in the 68-member assembly while the now ruling Congress will be reduced to 22-28 seats. When asked to indicate who they would vote for if elections were held the very next day, 47 per cent of voters indicated BJP as their choice. The Congress was the vote choice of 41 percent respondents. Other smaller parties were preferred by 12 per cent respondents. The survey has also found that there was a disappointment among people on the issues of GST and demonetisation. Voting for the 68-seat Himachal Pradesh assembly will take place on 9 November and the results will be declared on 18 December. Congress won 36 of the 68 seats in 2012 Assembly election with a vote share of 42.81%, while the BJP bagged 26 seats with a 38.47% vote share. The BJP in 2014 Lok Sabha elections had won all the four seats with a vote percentage of 53.85 per cent. At that time, the Congress, which was at helm in the state, got 41.07 per cent votes. Congress has named six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, 83, to lead the party in the election campaigning and if the party returns to power he will be the chief ministerial candidate. While Virbhadra Singh has already carried out a whirlwind tour of the state ahead the announcement of polls, the BJP is banking on its central top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah. Prime Minister Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, Union ministers and several other leaders would campaign for the party. PM Modi is to visit the state on November 2, 4 and 6. BJP has already released its "Vision Document" for the Himachal Pradesh polls. Dismantling "mafia raj", women's safety, free 'chardham' pilgrimage for the elderly and jobs for youth are among the key focus areas in party's manifesto. It also promised laptops and free Internet data of up to 1GB per month to college students. The document promised a 24-hour helpline in the chief minister's office for reporting all types of crimes, setting up of Somnath Vahini, a task force of ex-servicemen to take on drug mafia and crime.