A voter turnout of 20.76% was recorded until 11am within the bypolls to 4 meeting segments in Punjab on Wednesday, officers stated.
Voters in queue earlier than exercising their franchise on the polling station in Gidderbaha, Muktsar district, on Wednesday. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT)
Polling started at 7am and would proceed until 6pm.
Bypolls to the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala meeting segments have been necessitated after the incumbent lawmakers have been elected to the Lok Sabha.
The Gidderbaha seat recorded 35% polling, Dera Baba Nanak 19.4%, Barnala 16.1% and Chabbewal 12.71%.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann appealed to voters to take part for Punjab’s vibrant future. “I appeal to voters of the four constituencies where byelections are being held today to use their right to vote keeping in mind the Baba Sahib and the martyrs’ dreams of Punjab. Vote for whomever you want but vote according to your own will. For the bright future of Punjab, do your duty. Don’t consider today a holiday, go and vote,” Mann posted on X.
Amongst those that forged their votes within the morning included Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Barnala BJP candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon, Chabbewal BJP nominee Sohan Singh Thandal, Dera Baba Nanak Congress candidate Jatinder Kaur and her husband and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Barnala Congress nominee Kuldeep Singh Dhillon.
Chatting with reporters, Hayer exuded confidence that the voters of Barnala would vote for the AAP and claimed that the Punjab authorities carried out many improvement works within the meeting constituency for the previous two-and-a-half years.
Forty-five candidates, together with three girls, are within the fray for the bypolls. A complete of 6.96 lakh voters, together with 3.31 lakh girls, are eligible to train their franchise at 831 polling stations.
Among the many key contestants within the fray are former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Kewal Singh Dhillon, Sohan Singh Thandal and Ravikaran Singh Kahlon (BJP), Amrita Warring and Jatinder Kaur (Congress), and Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon and Ishank Kumar Chabbewal (AAP).
Amrita is the spouse of the Congress’ Punjab chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Jatinder Kaur is the partner of Gurdaspur MP and former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
The Shiromani Akali Dal has opted to avoid the bypolls. The social gathering took the choice to not take part within the bypolls after Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has now resigned because the social gathering president, didn’t get any short-term aid from the Akal Takht, which declared him ‘tankhaiya’ (particular person responsible of spiritual misconduct), for the “mistakes” dedicated by his social gathering and authorities from 2007-17.
At current, the AAP has 91 MLAs within the 117-member Punjab meeting, whereas the Congress has 15, Shiromani Akali Dal three, BJP two, and the Bahujan Samaj Celebration one. One seat is held by an Unbiased MLA.