Punjab: AAP's Harmeet Sandhu leads in Tarn Taran bypoll, SAD nominee trailing

Tarn Taran (Punjab), Nov 14 (PTI) AAP candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu was leading with 3,668 votes against his nearest rival and Shiromani Akali Dal nominee Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa as the counting of votes for the Tarn Taran assembly bypoll progressed on Friday.

Harmeet Singh Sandhu had 20,454 votes against Randhawa's 16,786 after the eighth round of counting was completed, the Election Commission website showed. There will be a total of 16 rounds of counting.

Randhawa was in the lead in the first three rounds of counting, but then Sandhu took over.

Independent candidate Mandeep Singh was in the third spot with 9,162 votes while Congress candidate Karanbir Singh Burj was fourth with 8,760 votes. BJP's Harjit Singh Sandhu was a distant fifth with 2,302 votes.

A total of 15 candidates were in the fray.

The counting of votes for the November 11 bypoll, which saw a voter turnout of 60.95 per cent, began at 8 am.

The Tarn Taran seat fell vacant after the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal in June.

Tight security arrangements have been made at the counting centre set up at the International College of Nursing, Piddi.

The bypoll is being seen as a litmus test for Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the ruling AAP, which has won five of the six bypolls held in the state since it came to power in March 2022. PTI CHS VSD DIV DIV