Shimla, Dec 8 (PTI) Former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Kuldeep Rathore is leading from Theog assembly seat in Shimla district with a narrow margin of 67 votes, according to initial Election Commission trends.

The stakes are high for Rathore who is contesting for the first time.

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It was during his tenure as state Congress chief that the party won by-elections to the Mandi Lok Sabha seat and three assembly seats last year.

Theog is witnessing a multi-corner contest with Rathore pitted against sitting MLA and lone CPIM candidate Rakesh Singha, and BJP's Ajay Shyam.

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The entry of Indu Verma, wife of two-time former BJP MLA Rakesh Verma, and Vijaypal Khachi, son of former Congress stalwart and former cabinet minister, as independents made the contest interesting.

A demand for 100 per cent import duty on apples and increasing production cost of apples coupled with 18 per cent GST on cartons were the major issues in the constituency, considered the epicentre of the apple agitation in Shimla district.

Besides basic amenities, restoration of the old pension scheme were some of the other issues.

In 2017 assembly polls, Singha had defeated BJPs Rakesh Verma by a margin of 1,983 votes. In 2012, veteran Congress leader Vidya Stokes had defeated Rakesh Verma by a margin of 4,276 votes.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)