Kargil war hero Brigadier (retd) Khushal Thakur of the BJP is leading with 1,855 votes over his nearest rival of the Congress, Pratibha Singh, in the Mandi parliamentary seat of Himachal Pradesh.

Pratibha Singh is the wife of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh.

Counting of votes for the recently held by-elections in Himachal Pradesh for Mandi Lok Sabha and three Vidhan Sabha seats of Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai is underway amid tight security at 25 counting centres.

On October 30, the world’s highest polling station at 15,256 feet in Tashigang village recorded 100 per cent voter turnout despite freezing weather of minus 16 degrees Celsius.

All the 47 registered voters, comprising 29 men and 18 women, had cast their votes, an election official said.