Himachal switches to BJP, just minus CM-face Dhumal

Shimla : Even as the BJP made an impressive comeback in Himachal Pradesh today by bagging 44 of the 68 seats and reducing the Congress to 21, it saw its CM-candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal, state president Satpal Singh Satti and a host of other stalwarts bite the dust.
No party has been elected to power twice in a row for 32 years in the state.
Edit: HP goes the BJP way
Both Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his son Vikramaditya Singh won — the latter making his debut in electoral politics from Shimla (Rural).
Dhumal was announced the BJP’s CM candidate barely nine days prior to the November 9 Assembly elections. The two-time CM was made to shift his seat from Hamirpur to Sujanpur by his party high command. He was defeated by Rajinder Rana, his one-time protégé, by 1,900 votes.
Barring Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri (Haroli), Agriculture Minister Sujan Singh Pathania (Fatehpur) and Social Justice Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil, five ministers in the Virbhadra Cabinet lost too. Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes did not contest. Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma, who had switched over to the BJP, won from Mandi. Four women candidates of the 19 in the fray registered a win — Congress’ Asha Kumari from Dalhousie, BJP’s Sarveen Chaudhary from Shahpur, Rita Dhiman from Indora and Kamlesh Kumari from Bhoranj.