Punjab: 63 per cent polling recorded in Punjab bypolls

Chandigarh, Nov 20 (PTI) A voter turnout of 63 per cent was recorded in the bypolls to four assembly segments in Punjab on Wednesday that largely remained peaceful, barring a minor clash between AAP and Congress supporters in Dera Baba Nanak.

Bypolls to the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala assembly segments were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha.

The polling began amid tight security at 7 am and ended at 6 pm.

Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said 63 per cent voter turnout in the bypoll was recorded till 6 pm.

Precise figures will be updated by Thursday morning once all polling parties return to the collection centres and final data entry is completed, he further said.

According to the chief electoral officer, the highest turnout of 81 per cent was recorded in Gidderbaha. The Dera Baba Nanak Assembly segment witnessed 63 per cent polling, Barnala 54 per cent and Chabbewal 53 per cent.

Polling remained peaceful in the four assembly segments barring a minor clash incident in Dera Baba Nanak.

At the Dera Pathana village under the Dera Baba Nanak Assembly segment, AAP and Congress supporters clashed with each other and also engaged in heated arguments. A heavy police force was deployed to diffuse the tension.

Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, the husband of Congress nominee for the bypolls Jatinder Kaur, claimed that some "outsiders" thrashed a Congress worker in the village on the behest of the AAP and also alleged inaction on the part of the police.

AAP nominee Gurdeep Singh Randhawa, who also reached the spot, rejected Randhawa's allegations.

The bypolls are seen as a litmus test for Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann whose government completed two-and-half-years in office.

A strong showing in the bypolls will be a big boost for Mann after his party's dismal performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in which it could win just three of the 13 parliamentary constituencies in Punjab.

A lot is also at stake for Congress MPs Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Sukhjinder Randhawa, whose wives were in the fray from the Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak seats, respectively.

The BJP is also looking to put up a strong show in the bypolls after it drew a blank from the state in the general elections.

People, including the elderly and women, reached the polling stations in the morning to cast their votes.

Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, the BJP's Barnala candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon, its Chabbewal nominee Sohan Singh Thandal, Congress candidate from Dera Baba Nanak Jatinder Kaur and her husband Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and the Congress' Barnala nominee Kuldeep Singh Dhillon were among the early voters.

Among the key candidates, Congress nominee Amrita Warring and BJP's Manpreet Badal could not cast their votes as they are the voters of other constituencies.

Amrita Warring is a voter of the Muktsar assembly seat, while Manpreet has his vote in the Lambi constituency.

Speaking to reporters in Barnala, Hayer exuded confidence that people will vote for the AAP while underlining that the Punjab government carried out many development works in the Assembly segment in the past two-and-a-half years.

In Gidderbaha, Congress nominee Amrita Warring and AAP's Dimpy Dhillon visited a gurdwara to offer prayers.

Forty-five candidates, including three women, were in the fray for the bypolls. A total of 6.96 lakh voters, including 3.31 lakh women, were eligible to exercise their franchise at 831 polling stations.

The Shiromani Akali Dal has opted to stay away from the bypolls.

The party took the decision after Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has now resigned as the SAD president, failed to get any temporary relief from the Akal Takht, which declared him 'tankhaiya' (a person guilty of religious misconduct), for the "mistakes" committed by his party and government from 2007 to 2017.

More than 6,400 police personnel and 17 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces were deployed for peaceful elections.

The AAP currently has 91 MLAs in the 117-member Punjab Assembly, while the Congress has 15. The Shiromani Akali Dal has three MLAs, BJP two, and the Bahujan Samaj Party one. PTI CHS VSD NSD NSD