HP polls: Cong's Sukhvinder Singh leads with over 3,600 votes

SHIMLA: Former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was leading ​by over 3,600 votes against the BJP's Vijay Kumar Agnihotri from Nadaun constituency in Hamirpur district, early trends showed.

Of the total 15,893 votes counted so far, Sukhu polled 9,362 against 5,756 votes for the BJP candidate.

Shankey Thukral of the Aam Aadmi Party was at a distant third with 632 votes.

Nadaun became a hot seat in the elections as Sukhu, who is seen as a chief minister contender, headed the Congress election campaign committee. Also, this was the fourth time that Agnihotri locked horns with him from the constituency.

In the 2017 elections, Sukhu defeated Agnihotri by 2,349 votes, while in 2012, Agnihotri got the better of the Congress leader by more than 6,000 votes. In 2007, Sukhu defeated Agnihotri by over 500 votes.

Home Minister Amit Shah's jibe at Sukhu about his chief ministerial candidature was also the talk of the town during the election campaigning.

Shah had indirectly taken a dig at Sukhu's candidature, saying the Congress was a party of 'rajas and ranis' and even though many chief ministerial aspirants were in the fray, no one would actually get a chance.

Top BJP leaders had campaigned for Agnihotri, who also remained steadfast in the area day and night, while Sukhu remained largely absent due to his responsibilities for the campaign.

Voters in Sukhu's home constituency complained about his absence as he was occupied with party work and participated in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's rallies. He also travelled to other constituencies to support party candidates.

The situation had made Sukhu's supporters wary as losing the seat would end his prospects for the chief minister's post, just like former chief minister P K Dhumal, who lost the 2017 polls.