Shimla, Oct 21(UNI) Counting of votes began at 0800 hrs for Pachhad and Dharmshala bypolls in Himachal Pradesh amid tight security arrangements.
State Chief Electoral Officer Divesh Kumar said that two counting station have been set up -- one at Rajgarh Govt. School in Sirmour and the other one at Govt School in Dharmshala.
The trends are expected to come before 0900 hrs, after the counting of postal ballots is over.
On October 21, polling was conducted in both Assembly constituencies to decide the fate of 12 candidates -- seven in Dharmshala and five in Pachhad.
This is seen as the first litmus test of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, as these are the first elections fought under his leadership, after he assumed the office.
The ruling BJP had won these seats in the 2017 assembly elections and are therefore trying hard to retain them, while the Congress is leaving no stone un-turned to wrest the power from BJP.
This time it wont be a cake walk for either party as rebel candidates, who are in fray, are giving a tough competition to both the parties.
Barring six times former Congress MLA Gangu Ram Musafir, all others 11 candidate are green horns including three from BJP and one from Congress.
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