Shimla: The BJP is ahead of the Congress in all four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh, according to Election Commission trends. Actor Kangana Ranaut, the BJP’s candidate from Mandi, and Union minister Anurag Thakur, seeking a fifth term from the Hamirpur Parliament seat, are leading.
The counting of votes began with postal ballots.
Counting began at 8 am at 80 counter centres across the state for Himachal Pradesh’s four Lok Sabha seats and six assembly constituencies where bypolls were held, officials said.
Amongst those in the fray are are four-time Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma, Himachal Pradesh’s Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh and the BJP’s former state unit chief Suresh Kashyap.
The outer and middle rings of the three-tier security cordon at the counting centres are being guarded by about 900 personnel of the police while the inner circle is manned by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), election officials said.
They added that 41 platoons of the CAPF have been deployed.
The bypolls were held on June 1, simultaneously with elections to the four Lok Sabha seats. The assembly constituencies where bypolls were held are Sujanpur, Dharamshala, Lahaul & Spiti, Barsar, Gagret and Kutlehar.
