Himachal votes: All you need to know about the election

The northern hill state of Himachal Pradesh goes to polls today. Here's a ready reckoner.

Polling

Polling for all the 68 constituencies began at 8:00 am and go on till 5:00 pm.

Total candidates

There are 338 candidates in the fray. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal is the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP. He faces-off with chief minister Virbhadra Singh of the Congress. 

The males contesting the elections outnumber the females by more than 15 times (319 vs 19).

Party-wise candidates

The Indian National Congress (INC): 68 
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 68
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP): 42
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M): 14
Communist Party of India (CPI): 3
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP): 2
Samajwadi Party (SP): 2
Independents: 112
Registered but unrecognised: 27

Voters

A total of 5025941 voters will exercise their franchise. They include 2568761 males, 2457166 females and 14 third gender voters. The males and females are evenly balanced.

Constituencies

Constituency with maximum candidates: Dharamshala (12)
Constituency with minimum candidates: Jhanduta (2)
Electorate-wise largest constituency: Sullah 
Electorate-wise smallest constituency: Lahaul and Spiti
Area-wise largest constituency: Lahaul and Spiti
Constituency with more than one woman candidate: Mandi (2)

Results 

Results will be declared on December 18.

The BJP is hopeful of defeating the incumbent Congress government and getting a clear majority in the state.