Punjab Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: Akali Dal’s husband and wife duo of Sukhbir Singh Badal and Harsimrat Kaur Badal are now in healthy leads in Firozpur and Bathinda Lok Sabha seats respectively, according to the ECI website. SAD now leads in two seats, while its alliance partner BJP is also leading on two seats, Sunny Deol in Gurdaspur and Som Parkash in Hoshiarpur.
Sunny Deol told News18.com, that he “wont disappoint the people of Gurudaspur. I am happy with the ‘Modi Wave’. He’s shown confidence in me. I will start work with the farmers and work tpwards winning the battle against drugs”.
The SAD-BJP alliance is thus leading on four seats and AAP on one (Bhagwant Mann from Sangrur). Congress is leading on the remaining eight seats. The Aam Aadmi Party has finally opened up a lead in Punjab; state unit president Bhagwant Mann has established a lead in Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, where he is the incumbent MP. After initially trailing Akali Dal’s Prem Singh Chandumajra, Congress’ Manish Tiwari is now leading in Anandpur Sahib. In first leads from Punjab, Preneet Kaur, wife of Chief Minister Amarender Singh, is leading from Patiala Lok Sabha seat. Kaur is up against AAP’s Neena Mittal and Akali Dal’s Surjit Singh Rakhra on the seat. Punjab is one of few states where Congress is going in confident of a convincing win. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh has run a tight ship in the state and the grand old party is hoping for a dominant performance. Also leading is Bollywood star and BJP newcomer Sunny Deol from Gurdaspur seat. Deol is up against Congress’ Sunil Kumar Jakhar and AAP’s Peter Masih.
Early signs seem to be in Congress’ favour; Gurjeet Singh Aujla (from Amritsar), Mohammad Sadique (from Faridkot), Amar Singh (from Fatehgarh Sahib), Santokh Singh Chaudhary (from Jalandhar), Jasbir Singh (from Khadoor Sahib) and Ravneet Singh Bittu (from Ludhiana) are leading. Akali Dal seems to be holding its seats; Sukhbir Singh Badal is leading from Firozpur.
The Lok Sabha election results for all 13 seats in Punjab will soon be clear as counting begins. Several key candidates are in the poll fray in Punjab, namely actor and BJP newcomer Sunny Deol from Gurdaspur, Congress’ Manish Tiwari from Anandpur Sahib, former CM Sukhbir Singh Badal from Ferozepur, AAP state president Bhagwant Mann from Sangrur and AAP rebel Sukhpal Khaira from Bhatinda.
Congress is strong in the state and AAP, which had won four seats in Punjab in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, is on the decline. The AAP has been riddled with factionalism and rebellion, but the party might still have a role to play in the outcome. The BJP-SAD alliance would be hoping to gain advantage from AAP’s losses and give Congress a good fight in the state.
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Here are ten key developments you need to know ahead of Punjab Lok Sabha election results:
1) Former cricketer, Congress leader, star campaigner and Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh SIdhu has been causing his party discomfort. His recent comments on the denial of a ticket to his wife and inaction over desecration of Guru Granth Sahib and police firing on protestors during Akali Dal regime has angered Congress and CM Singh. Captain went on to say the Sidhu has CM aspirations and has criticised the leader for destabilising the party just ahead of polls and results.
2) Exit polls have, however, predicted a comfortable win for Congress in the state. The News18-IPSOS exit poll has given the party an edge with 10 seats. As per the survey, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win two and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) a single seat.
3) While Congress’ prospects look good, AAP, which had shocked everyone by winning four seats in 2014, is in disarray. Several of its state leaders have quit the party and formed a third front. The party has lost considerable ground ahead of polls and state president Bhagwant Mann faces an uphill battle to restore AAP’s identity in Punjab.
4) AAP rebel Sukhpal Khaira formed his own Punjabi Ekta Party and formed a third front called Punjab Democratic Alliance. The PDA is in alliance with BSP, Left and Lok Insaaf Party and is contesting all 13 seats in the state. Khaira had derided Kejriwal when he quit AAP, calling the party president an arrogant man. The PDA is part of the national Mahagathbandhan and has supported Mayawati as the next PM.
5) The BJP-SAD alliance cannot be disregarded and is still a formidable unit in the state. After a humbling defeat in Assembly polls, the alliance is looking to regain lost ground in the state. SAD has lost a sizable section of voters due to the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and firing on protestors in 2015. The SAD is contesting on 10 seats, while the BJP is contesting on the remaining three in the state.
6) SAD has also been dealing with internal factionalism as well. The infighting in Akali Dal led to the formation of the breakaway Taksali group. The anger among Sikh voters over the desecration of the holy scripture and the subsequent police firing at protesters is still a simmering issue. The Taksali group has formed an alliance with the AAP in the state.
7) In Gurdaspur, actor Sunny Deol is the BJP candidate. Previously, Vinod Khanna had held the seat for BJP. The party has only won the seat with a star candidate. Khanna had first won from Gurdaspur in 1998. He went on to win three times in a row. After Khanna’s death, BJP fielded a local who lost. So BJP is banking on Deol’s star appeal to sail him through.
8) The proposed Kartarpur corridor also remains a topic of discussion in Punjab. The relations between India and Pakistan have been especially fraught since the Pulwama terror attack in February and the retaliatory Balakot air strikes. Pakistan hopes to resume talks with India over the corridor once Lok Sabha election results are declared and a new government is in place. The Kartarpur corridor, once operational, would link Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Narowal to Dera Baba Nayak shrine in Gurdaspur district in Punjab. The corridor will provide visa-free access to the shrines in either country for Sikh devotees.
9) Farmer unrest is a lingering issue in Punjab. Recent loan waivers and farmer friendly measures under the current state government have not left much impact on the growing farm distress. Farmers in Punjab today are disillusioned with elections and many dismiss all parties as one and the same.
10) Punjab went to polls in the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 19 and saw a voter turnout of 65.77 %, down from 70.69 % in 2014 elections. Singh, the CM, said the turnout numbers were indicative of people’s resolve to to uphold democratic ethos of the country. Singh also rejected exit poll numbers and said the Congress was going to do better at both state and national level.
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