Punjab records nearly 56 pc voter turnout, Chandigarh 63 pc

CHANDIGARH: Punjab saw a voter turnout of 55.69 per cent for the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies on Saturday, as polling remained peaceful, said the officials.

In the lone parliamentary seat of Chandigarh, the voter turnout was at 62.80 per cent.

The polling came to an end at 6 pm. Poll officials said the final turnout figure will rise as the data pertaining to polling is being compiled.

In 2019, voter turnout percentage in Punjab was 65.96 per cent and 70.62 per cent in the Union Territory (UT) of Chandigarh.

Polling began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements, the officials said.

Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said despite intense heat, enthusiasm demonstrated by the voters was commendable.

"By turning out in such significant numbers, voters have risen to the trust reposed in them by the founders of the Indian Constitution," he said.

Among the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab, Bathinda recorded a turnout of 60.84, followed by Gurdaspur with 58.56 per cent, according to the Election Commission data.

The polling percentage in Amritsar was 50.33, Khadoor Sahib 56.46, Jalandhar 53.66, Hoshiarpur 52.39, Anandpur Sahib 55.55, Ludhiana 52.84, Fatehgarh Sahib 54.55, Faridkot 55.44, Ferozepur 57.68, Sangrur 57.21 and Patiala 58.23, the data showed.

Voters, including elders, women and youngsters, queued up early in the morning at several polling stations to exercise their franchise.

Despite searing heat, voters continued to trickle in at polling stations for exercising their franchise. At many places, elderly people and persons with disabilities came to cast their votes.

Drinking water, shades, 'chabeel' (sweetened water), medical kits, oral rehydration solution (ORS) and the likes were arranged at polling stations given the heatwave conditions, the officials said.

Among those who cast their votes early were Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, AAP leader Raghav Chadha, AAP candidates Malvinder Singh Kang, Karamjit Singh Anmol, BJP candidate Taranjit Singh Sandhu, SAD candidate Anil Joshi and former cricketer Harbhajan Singh.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, along with his wife, cast his vote in Muktsar. Congress candidate Gurjeet Singh Aujla exercised his franchise in Amritsar, while the BJP's Chandigarh candidate Sanjay Tandon and his family voted in Chandigarh.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, his wife and Bathinda candidate Harsimrat Kaur Badal, along with their son and two daughters, cast their votes in Muktsar.

BJP leader Tarun Chugh, former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa and BJP leader Manpreet Singh Badal cast their votes in Punjab while actor Ayushmann Khurrana and outgoing BJP MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher exercised their franchise in the UT.

BJP candidate Preneet Kaur cast her vote along with her family in Patiala. However, former chief minister Amarinder Singh did not cast his vote as he was indisposed.

AAP MLA Neena Mittal was issued a notice for allegedly making a video of her casting vote at a polling booth in Rajpura.

Among the prominent faces, BJP nominee and four-time MP Preneet Kaur is seeking re-election from the Patiala parliamentary constituency.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a three-time MP; and the BJP's Parampal Kaur Sidhu, a former IAS officer, are trying their luck from Bathinda.

Former chief minister and Congress candidate Charanjit Singh Channi and BJP nominee Sushil Rinku are in the fray from the Jalandhar reserved constituency.

Former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa is contesting from Gurdaspur.

Warring is contesting against the BJP's Ravneet Singh Bittu from Ludhiana.

Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act (NSA), is fighting from Khadoor Sahib.

Former diplomat and BJP nominee Taranjit Singh Sandhu is fighting from Amritsar against sitting MP and Congress candidate Gurjeet Singh Aujla.

Among its 13 candidates, AAP has fielded five cabinet ministers -- Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal (Amritsar), Laljit Singh Bhullar (Khadoor Sahib), Gurmeet Singh Khuddian (Bathinda), Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer (Sangrur) and Balbir Singh (Patiala).

Congress candidate Sukhpal Khaira is contesting from Sangrur while AAP's Karamjit Singh Anmol and the BJP's Hans Raj Hans are in the fray from the Faridkot seat.

SAD (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann is contesting from Sangrur and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, who is the son of Beant Singh, one of the two assassins of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, is contesting from the Faridkot reserved constituency.

In Chandigarh, BJP candidate Sanjay Tandon is pitted against Congress nominee and former Union minister Manish Tewari.

A total of 328 candidates, including 26 women, were in the fray in Punjab while 19 candidates comprising two women were contesting the elections in Chandigarh, the officials said.

A total of 2,14,61,739 voters, including 1,01,74,240 women and 773 third-gender electors, were eligible to vote in Punjab. In Chandigarh, 6,59,805 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise.

For the 13 Lok Sabha seats, a total of 24,451 polling stations were set up. Out of these, 5,694 polling stations were identified as critical.

INDIA bloc allies Congress and AAP were contesting the polls separately while the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were fighting the Lok Sabha polls on their own for the first time since 1996.