Sonia's santri wins in Rampur

The BJP campaign in Himachal Pradesh had made much of the fact that personal staff of the Gandhi family had been rewarded by party tickets to contest the assembly poll. The loyalty bonus bore fruit in some cases.

Former Special Protection Group commando Nand Lal, nicknamed "Sonia ka santri" (Sonia's guard), won the reserved Rampur seat in Shimla district.

Nand Lal was given the party ticket in place of Horticulture Minister and six-time MLA Singhi Ram. Lal, who quit as DIG (ITBP) two months ago to enter the electoral fray, defeated the BJP's Brij Lal by 6,000 votes.

But Prakash Chand Karad, the 37-year-old son of Padam Ram, who served as a cook with the Gandhi-Nehru family for over three decades, came third on Arki seat in Solan district.

Karad was preferred over veteran Congress leader and Deputy Speaker Dharampal Thakur. He finished third behind the winner-- Govind Ram of BJP-- and Thakur, sitting MLA who contested as an independent.