The Indian states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elected their State Legislative Assembly members in November and December 2022.
The counting of votes was done on 8th December 2022 and results were announced on the same day.
Both states have elected a clear winner and the winning party can now form a government in the state for the next 5 years.
Gujarat
In Gujarat, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) won absolute majority by winning 156 out of 182 seats.
In 2017, when the last elections were held, BJP had won 99 seats. This had given them a narrow winning margin.
This is the seventh consecutive (non-stop, one after another) BJP government in the state.
The current Chief Minister, Shri Bhupendra Patel, is likely to continue in his role.
Himachal Pradesh
In Himachal Pradesh, the Indian National Congress won a clear majority – 40 out of the 68 Assembly seats were won by the party.
Independent candidates won 3 seats (indicated in the chart above in green), while 25 seats were won by the Bhartiya Janata Party.
In 2017, the Bhartiya Janata Party had won 44 seats, getting a clear majority. The Indian National Congress had won 21 seats, the Communist Party had one seat, and independent candidates had two seats.
Since 1985, the same party has not come back to power in Himachal Pradesh. This time was no different.
The current Chief Minister, Shri Jai Ram Thakur, has accepted defeat and conceded.
The Congress party, however, has not announced a name for Chief Minister.
Update: On 11th December, Shri Sukhwinder Singh Satu took oath as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
Assembly Bye Elections December 2022
A Bye election is held when a seat falls vacant before the end of the term for any reason.
This can be:
Death
Disqualification
Resignation
of the person holding the seat
Assembly Bye-Elections
5 Assembly Bye elections were also held in December. The results are:
Bihar – 1 seat – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Chhattisgarh – 1 seat – Indian National Congress (INC)
Odisha – 1 seat – Biju Janata Dal (BJD)
Rajasthan – 1 seat – Indian National Congress (INC)
Uttar Pradesh – 2 seats – one each to BJP and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)
Parliamentary Bye Election
One Parliamentary constituency also fell vacant and needed a bye-election.
The Mainpuri seat of Uttar Pradesh was won by Samajwadi Party.