Punjab bypolls: AAP's Ishank Kumar wins Chabbewal seat

Chandigarh: AAP candidate Ishank Kumar Chabbewal won the Chabbewal assembly seat in Punjab on Saturday, defeating his nearest rival and Congress nominee Ranjit Kumar by a margin of 28,690 votes, according to officials.

Ishank Kumar, a doctor, polled 51,904 votes and Ranjit Kumar secured 23,214 votes. The BJP's Sohan Singh Thandal was a distant third with 8,692 votes, Election Commission data showed.

The Chabbewal bypoll was necessitated after Ishank Kumar's father Raj Kumar Chabbewal, who was a Congress MLA but later joined the AAP, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Hoshiarpur.

Raj Kumar was elected to the Punjab Assembly from Chabbewal in 2017 and 2022 on Congress tickets.

Counting of votes for the bypolls to the four assembly seats in Punjab began at 8 am.

Besides Chabbewal (SC), Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak and Barnala went to polls on November 20. The bypolls were necessitated after the four MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha.