Summary:
Shimla, Dec 8 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Jairam Thakur has won the Seraj assembly constituency by a margin of more than 31,000 votes over Chet Ram of the Congress, according to the Election Commission.
Thakur, 57, won this seat for the sixth time even though the BJP lost power to the Congress this election.
Himachal Pradesh has not returned any incumbent government to power in the last nearly four decades.
The Seraj constituency falls under the Mandi parliamentary seat, which state Congress chief Pratibha Singh represents.
She won it in a by-election.
Thakur defeated Chet Ram by a margin of 31,788 votes in results announced on Thursday.
He has won Seraj in five earlier elections -- 1998, 2003, 2007, 2012 and 2017.
Seraj was earlier known as the Chachiot constituency.
The constituency has been dominated by the BJP for the last 25 years.
In the 2017 assembly polls, Thakur had defeated Ram by a margin of over 11,000 votes.
Six contestants were in the fray for the seat which has around 75,000 electors.
The other four candidates were Mahender Singh (CPI-M), Gita Nand (AAP), Indra Devi (BSP) and Narender Kumar (Independent).
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