By IANS
Shimla : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was Friday poised to win power in Himachal Pradesh, with counting of votes polled in assembly elections putting it in the clear lead in most seats, officials said.
The BJP was ahead of the ruling Congress party in 17 of the 26 constituencies where counting trends were available. Political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said the BJP could end up winning 40-45 seats in the 68-member house.
The Congress was on the winning track in only seven seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and an independent candidate led in one seat each.
Exit polls had predicted that the BJP would win the elections in the hill state, which went to the polls over two phases Nov 14 and Dec 19.
Thousands of officials began the vote count across 41 centres in the hill state at 8 a.m.