Punjab bypolls: Over 20% polling recorded in first four hours

Chandigarh: A voter turnout of over 20 percent was recorded till 11 am in the bypolls to four assembly segments in Punjab on Wednesday, officials said.

Polling began at 7 am and would continue till 6 pm.

Bypolls to the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala assembly segments were necessitated after the incumbent lawmakers were elected to the Lok Sabha.

A voter turnout of 20.76 percent was registered till 11 am, they said.

The Gidderbaha seat recorded 35 percent polling, Dera Baba Nanak 19.4 percent, Barnala 16.1 percent and Chabbewal 12.71 percent.

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 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," said Mann in a post on X.

Among those who cast their votes in the morning included Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, BJP candidate from Barnala seat Kewal Singh Dhillon, BJP nominee from Chabbewal Sohan Singh Thandal, Congress candidate from Dera Baba Nanak Jatinder Kaur and her husband and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Congress nominee from Barnala seat Kuldeep Singh Dhillon.

Speaking to reporters in Barnala, Hayer exuded confidence that the voters of Barnala assembly segment will vote for the AAP and claimed that the Punjab government carried out many development works in Barnala in the past two-and-a-half years.

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

Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Randhawa also said that people will vote for his wife in the bypoll.

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 is the wife of the Congress' Punjab 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 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' (person guilty of religious misconduct), for the "mistakes" committed by his party and government from 2007 to 2017.

The AAP currently has 91 MLAs in the 117-member Punjab Assembly, while the Congress has 15, Shiromani Akali Dal three, BJP two, and the Bahujan Samaj Party one. One seat is held by an Independent MLA.