Himachal election results: Cong's Anirudh Singh retains Kasumpti seat

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Congress leader Anirudh Singh has retained Himachal Pradesh's Kasumpti assembly seat, defeating his nearest BJP rival and state minister Suresh Bhardwaj by a margin of 8,655 votes. A member of the erstwhile Koti royal family, Singh had raised the issue of restoration of the Old Pension Scheme during election campaign.

The BJP had shifted Bhardwaj to Kasumpti, an urban-rural mix constituency which has not elected a BJP member in 20 years, from the Shimla (Urban) seat.

The Aam Aadmi Party and the CPI(M) were also in the fray from the seat that neighbours state capital Shimla.

Also Read: Himachal election results: Independent candidate Hoshiyar Singh wins from Dehra

The restoration of the Old Pension Scheme emerged as a key issue in the Himachal Pradesh polls, especially in Kasumpti that has a large number of government employees as voters.

"The BJP has not uttered anything on this issue. The Congress will restore OPS immediately after forming the government," Singh, the eyeing a third-term, had said. Bhardwaj had earlier claimed that the sitting MLA of Kasumpti had not done much work. He had also said the Congress is facing a leadership crisis, both at the Centre and in Himachal and that the people will reject the grand old party.

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