Punjab assembly bypolls: Nearly 50% polling recorded till 3 pm

Chandigarh: Close to 50 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 3 pm in the bypolls to four assembly segments in Punjab on Wednesday while a minor clash between AAP and Congress supporters was reported from Dera Baba Nanak.

Bypolls to the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala assembly segments were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha. Polling began at 7 am and would continue till 6 pm.

A voter turnout of 49.61 per cent was registered till 3 pm, they said.

The Gidderbaha seat recorded 65.80 per cent polling, Dera Baba Nanak 52.2 per cent, Barnala 40 per cent and Chabbewal 40.25 per cent.

A minor clash took place between the AAP and Congress supporters at Dera Pathana village in the Dera Baba Nanak segment. Workers of both parties were also engaged in heated arguments.

A heavy police force was deputed at the site to diffuse the situation.

Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, the husband of Congress nominee for the bypolls Jatinder Kaur, alleged that some "outsiders" thrashed his party's workers at the village on the behest of the AAP and also alleged inaction on the part of the police.

AAP nominee Gurdeep Singh Randhawa, who also reached the spot, rejected Randhawa's allegations as baseless.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appealed to voters to cast their franchise in the bypolls.

"I appeal to voters of the four constituencies where by-elections are being held today to use their right to vote keeping in mind 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 said in a post on X.

Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, the BJP's Barnala candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon, its Chabbewal nominee Sohan Singh Thandal, Congress candidate from Dera Baba Nanak Jatinder Kaur and her husband Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and the Congress' Barnala nominee Kuldeep Singh Dhillon were among the early voters.

Speaking to reporters in Barnala, Hayer exuded confidence that people will vote for the AAP while underlining that the Punjab government carried out many development works in the Assembly segment in the past two-and-a-half years.

Congress nominee Jatinder Kaur exuded confidence that she would register a victory in the bypoll.

In Gidderbaha, Congress nominee Amrita Warring went to a gurdwara to offer prayers. She met AAP's candidate Hardeep Dhillon on her way out of the gurdwara premises. Dhillon also pay obeisance at the gurdwara.

Forty-five candidates, including three women, are in the fray for the bypolls. A total of 6.96 lakh voters, including 3.31 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise at 831 polling stations.

Among the key contestants in 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 Warring is the wife of the Congress' Punjab unit 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 has opted to stay away from the bypolls.

The party took the decision 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' (a person guilty of religious misconduct), for the "mistakes" committed by his party and government from 2007 to 2017.

The bypolls are seen as a litmus test for Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann whose government completed two-and-half-years in office. A victory will be important for Mann after his party's dismal performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in which it could win just three of 13 parliamentary constituencies.

A strong showing in the byelections will be a big boost for the chief minister and the party.

The stakes are also high for the main opposition Congress. A lot is at stake for MPs Raja Warring and Sukhjinder Randhawa whose wives were in the fray from the Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak seats, respectively.

Prestige is also at stake for the BJP drew a blank in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The party, however, has managed to double its vote share from 9.63 per cent in 2019 to 18.56 per cent in the 2024 general elections.

The AAP currently has 91 MLAs in the 117-member Punjab Assembly, while the Congress has 15. The Shiromani Akali Dal has three MLAs, BJP two, and the Bahujan Samaj Party one.