Chadigarh: Counting of votes for the bypolls to Punjab’s four assembly segments began at 8 am on Saturday amid tight security.
Bypolls to Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC), and Barnala took place on November 20. The bypolls were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress and BJP are the main contenders in this bypoll with the Shiromani Akali Dal staying away from the electoral battle.
The bypolls are seen as a litmus test for Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, whose government completed two-and-a-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.
The stakes are also high for the main opposition Congress. A lot is at stake for Congress MPs Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Sukhjinder Randhawa, whose wives contested the bypolls from Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak seats, respectively.
The BJP was also looking to put up a strong show in the bypolls after it drew a blank in the general elections from the state.
A voter turnout of 63.91 per cent was recorded in the bypolls. The Gidderbaha segment saw the highest turnout of 81.90 per cent. The Dera Baba Nanak seat recorded 64.01 per cent polling, Barnala 56.34 per cent and Chabbewal 53.43 per cent, respectively.
Foolproof security arrangements have been put in place at the counting centres, said officials on Friday.
Counting centres have been set up at Sukhjinder Group of Institutes in Gurdaspur for Dera Baba Nanak, Rayat and Bahra Group of Institutes in Hoshiarpur for Chabbewal, Government Senior Secondary School Bharu Road for Gidderbaha and S D College of Education for Barnala segment, they said.
Among the key contestants in the fray were former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Kewal Singh Dhillon, Sohan Singh Thandal and Ravikaran Singh Kahlon , Amrita Warring and Jatinder Kaur , and Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon and Ishank Kumar Chabbewal .
Amrita is the wife of Punjab Congress chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Jatinder Kaur is the spouse of Gurdaspur MP and former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
The Shiromani Akali Dal stayed away from the bypolls. The party took the decision not to participate in the bypolls 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’ , for the “mistakes”.
From the Gidderbaha seat, Congress’ Amrita Warring, BJP’s Manpreet Singh Badal and A’s Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon were in the fray.
Shiromani Akali Dal also fielded Sukhraj Singh, who is the son of one of the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing victims.
From the Barnala seat, A’s Harinder Singh Dhaliwal, Congress’ Kuldeep Singh Dhillon and BJP’s Kewal Singh Dhillon were in the fray. Shiromani Akali Dal fielded Govind Singh Sandhu, who is the maternal grandson of former MP and party chief Simranjit Singh Mann, while A rebel Gurdeep Singh Batth contested as an independent candidate.
From the Chabbewal reserve assembly segment, A’s Dr Ishank Kumar Chabbewal, BJP’s Sohan Singh Thandal and the Congress’ Ranjit Kumar had entered the fray.
From the Dera Baba Nanak seat, Congress candidate Jatinder Kaur, A nominee Gurdeep Singh Randhawa and BJP’s Ravikaran Singh Kahlon were in the fray.
