Rohru throws up landslide surprise: Cong rookie wins by highest margin

As five-time Chief Minister and state Congress chief Virbhadra Singh left his stronghold Rohru for his new constituency Shimla Rural, his replacement Mohan Lal Brakta went onto create the highest winning margin in the state. Defeating his nearest contender Balak Ram Negi from BJP by 28,415 votes, Brakta won with a landslide victory in his first-ever Assembly elections.

Every vote counts and nobody better than Vinod Sultanpuri would know it. The young Congress face lost to BJP's Rajiv Saizal with a mere margin of 24 in Kasauli.

However, Congress still bagged the first two positions when it came to securing the highest margins. With Mohan Lal Brakta at the top, Virbhadra Singh followed with a margin of 19,033 votes. BJP managed the third spot with Rajiv Bindal defeating his Congress rival Kush Parmar by 12,834 votes in Nahan, Sirmaur district.

Coming to the capital, Shimla Urban saw a close battle. Former Shimla Municipal Corporation Mayor Harish Janartha lost by a mere 628 votes to BJP's Suresh Bhardwaj, who finished at 10,935. Not too far was Deputy Tikender Singh Panwar, who got 8,025 votes in his maiden Vidhan Sabha elections.

Two MLAs — Lakhwinder Rana (Nalagarh) and Hridya Ram (Renuka) of the Congress and BJP respectively, who were elected in the last year's bypoll — lost this time. All sitting MLAs of Sirmaur district, including Kush Parmar, son of first chief Minister Dr Y S Parmar, also lost.

Meanwhile, Vidya Stokes, who fought from Theog, is the oldest candidate and won the elections for the eighth time. At 84, she defeated BJP's candidate Rakesh Verma.

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