Shimla, Nov 2 (IANS): Kargil war hero Brigadier (retd) Khushal Thakur of the BJP is trailing with over 4,500 votes over his nearest rival Pratibha Singh of the Congress in the Mandi parliamentary seat in Himachal Pradesh.

Initial trends in counting of votes indicate the opposition Congress is leading in two of the three Assembly segments.

Pratibha Singh is the widow 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.

The state's ruling BJP is trailing in Fatehpur and Jubbal-Kotkhai seats. In the latter seat, the main contest is between BJP rebel and Independent Chetan Bragta and Congress Rohit Thakur. BJP candidate Neelam Sarek is trailing with a huge margin.

Bragta is the son of the late Narendra Bragta, a former horticulture minister.

The main contest in other seats is between the BJP and the Congress.