Punjab: Counting of votes for Tarn Taran bypoll begins

Tarn Taran (PB), Nov 14 (PTI) Counting of votes for the Tarn Taran assembly bypoll in Punjab began at 8 am here on Friday.

Polling for the seat was held on Tuesday, which saw a voter turnout of 60.95 per cent.

The Tarn Taran assembly seat fell vacant after the death of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal in June.

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

The counting will be completed in 16 rounds, officials said.

AAP fielded Harmeet Singh Sandhu, a three-time MLA from Tarn Taran, who joined the party in July. Sandhu was elected as an Independent in 2002 and as a Shiromani Akali Dal candidate in 2007 and 2012. He lost the seat in 2017 and 2022.

The Congress has fielded its Tarn Taran district unit chief Karanbir Singh Burj, an agriculturist and real estate businessman.

The BJP's candidate is its Tarn Taran district president Harjit Singh Sandhu.

The Shiromani Akali Dal's nominee is Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, who is a retired government school principal and wife of a 'Dharmi Fauji' -- a term used for Sikh soldiers who deserted the Army after Operation Blue Star in 1984.

Independent candidate Mandeep Singh, brother of Sandeep Singh alias Sunny, an accused in the 2022 murder of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri, was also in the fray. PTI CHS VSD RUK RUK