Independent India’s first voter Shyam Saran Negi in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district. Three days after casting his vote for the 34th time, Negi died on November 5, 2022 at his home in Kalpa in Himachal Pradesh. He was 106.
| Photo Credit: PTI
It happens rarely in the electoral contests in a State that a difference of less than one percentage of votes between the two key contestants, can contribute to one party scampering off to victory and the other left trailing behind. Himachal Pradesh provided one such example. The Congress was ahead of the BJP, by a wafer-thin vote share advantage and was able to win a majority of the seats in the Assembly. In such close contests, even the smallest of vote swings can lead to dramatically different results. The Lokniti-CSDS post-poll in Himachal Pradesh provides some indicators on what could have contributed to the Congress victory in this hill State.