Jalandhar bypoll: AAP's Rinku ahead of Cong's Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary by 4,503 votes

Chandigarh: AAP candidate Sushil Rinku is leading in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, counting of votes for which is underway, trends showed.

Rinku is ahead of his nearest rival and Congress candidate Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary by 4,503 votes, according to the trends on the Election Commission website.

The seat had fallen vacant following the death Karamjit Kaur's husband and Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in January.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate has so far polled 49,807 votes while Chaudhary has got 45,304.

BJP candidate Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal was at the third spot while Shiromani Akali Dal's Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, who is being backed by the BSP, was at the fourth spot, according to the trends.

Atwal has, so far, got 29,244 votes while Sukhi has polled 22,352 votes, it showed.

The bypoll was held on May 10 and counting began at 8 am.

Nineteen candidates contested the bypoll, which recorded a voter turnout of 54.70 per cent. The turnout was well below the 63.04 per cent recorded in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.