Counting of votes begins for Punjab's 13 Lok Sabha seats, Chandigarh constituency

Chandigarh: Counting of votes for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and the lone Chandigarh constituency began at 8 am amid tight security, officials said on Tuesday.

A total of 328 candidates, including 26 women, are in the fray in Punjab while 19, including two women, contested in Chandigarh.

As many as 117 counting centres have been established in the state, in 48 buildings and at 27 locations, they said and added that a comprehensive three-tier security system has been implemented around the counting centres.

A total of 64 observers have been deputed to oversee the counting process, they said.

Among the prominent faces in the fray in Punjab are the BJP's Preneet Kaur and Sushil Rinku, Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and former chief minister and Congress candidate Charanjit Singh Channi.

The Congress' Punjab unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring contested against the BJP's Ravneet Singh Bittu from Ludhiana.

Besides, Congress candidate and former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, former diplomat and BJP nominee Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the Congress' Gurjeet Singh Aujla and radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act (NSA), also contested the polls.

In Chandigarh, BJP candidate Sanjay Tandon was pitted against Congress nominee and former Union minister Manish Tewari.