3% dip in polling across 3 LS seats in Majha

Total turnout in the Majha region was 60% till the filing of this report. In 2019, the turnout was 63.26%. Amid searing temperatures, the voter turnout in Amritsar again remained the lowest in Punjab and the polling numbers in rural areas once again remained more than the urban areas.

Polling for three Lok Sabha seats in the Majha region— Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib and Gurdaspur— remained peaceful, with no untoward incident reported.

Voters show their ink-marked fingers after casting their vote in Amritsar on Saturday. (ANI)

There were a total of 83 candidates in the fray in three LS seats, including 30 in Amritsar, 26 in Gurdaspur and 27 in Khadoor Sahib.

Amid searing temperatures, the voter turnout in Amritsar again remained the lowest in Punjab and the polling numbers in rural areas once again remained more than the urban areas. Total turnout in the Majha region was 60% till the filing of this report. In 2019, the turnout was 63.26%.

Amritsar seat where five out of nine segments are urban recorded 54.02% voting which is the lowest in the state. In 2019 also the turnout here was among the lowest in the state.

Gurjeet Singh Aujla (Congress), Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal (AAP), Ex-diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu (BJP) and Anil Joshi (SAD) are the main contenders here.

The Ajnala assembly segment saw the highest polling at 59.35%. The average turnout of all the rural assembly segments was 56.91% much more than the urban segments.

Khadoor Sahib LS seat comprises Doaba’s two assembly segments — Kapurthala and Sultanpur Lodhi and one Malwa segment, Zira.

The turnout remained at 61.60%.

Here, the Zira segment, which is the home turf of Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira, recorded the highest turnout of 63.70%, while Patti, which is the home turf of AAP candidate Laljit Singh Bhullar, saw the second highest polling at 59.08% till filing of this report.

All eyes in Khadoor Sahib, a predominantly Sikh constituency are on Dibrugarh NSA detainee and radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is in the fray as an independent candidate.

In the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa (Congress), Dinesh Singh Babbu (BJP), Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi (AAP) and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema (SAD) are the main contenders. The constituency saw a turnout of 64.66% till the filing of the report. The Batala assembly segment, which is the home turf of Kalsi, saw the lowest turnout at 52%.

With the Sun blazing the voters preferred to stay indoors but the queues at the polling booths saw the rush in the evening when the temperatures dipped.

One shot dead in Ajnala on poll eve

Two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead a man said to be an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activist and left four others injured in Ajnala’s Lakhuwal village on the eve of the polling.

This is the village of Congress district rural president and former Ajnala MLA Hartap Singh Ajnala. After the murder, the villagers boycotted the poll process.

The incident took place on Friday night when a group of people were sitting outside a house, Ajnala police station SHO Balbir Singh said. The SHO said that the two motorcycle-borne assailants came and opened indiscriminate fire at the gathering.

One person, who was later identified as Deepinder Singh alias Deepu, died in the firing, he said and said the deceased had recently joined the AAP.

Four others were injured in the incident, he added. The SHO said investigation is on to identify the accused and no arrests have been made so far.

AAP-Cong workers clash in Gurdaspur

A clash broke out between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress workers as some outsiders allegedly entered polling booths in Gurdaspur on Saturday.

AAP leaders Neeraj Salotra and Bikramjit Singh Sodhi were seen speaking against the police officials. Police led by DSP Sukhpal Singh brought the situation under control.

Speaking on the incident, DSP Sukhpal Singh said, “While the voting going on in Tagore Memorial School Gopal Nagar, Nakul Mahajan, son of a Congress councillor, had alleged that outsiders had come to the booth and were casting fake votes, after which an argument broke out between Congress and AAP workers.”

AAP workers accused Congress of casting fake votes, however, police officers present on the spot intervened to bring the situation under control. With inputs from Agencies