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AAP heads for clean sweep in Punjab
Aam Aadmi Party leading in 88 of 117 assembly seats; Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal stalwarts, including Channi, Capt Amarinder, Sidhu and Badals, trailing
The Aam Aadmi Party appeared to be heading for a clean sweep in Punjab having taken a lead in 88 of the 117 assembly seats after initial rounds of counting of votes on Thursday, with chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal and former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh among the heavyweights who were trailing.
The Congress was leading in 13 seats, the SAD in eight, the BJP in five and the BSP in two, according to trends available at 10.30am. An Independent candidate was ahead in one seat.
The early trends indicated that the ruling Congress has been decimated in Punjab, while the SAD, which contested the elections in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party, has failed to make much impact.
Chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and a majority of his ministers are trailing.
New beginning for Punjab: Jarnail Singh
As the trends started showing a clear lead to the AAP, which made an impact in all the three regions of Malwa, Majha and Doaba, party workers began celebrating the sweep.
AAP leader and the party’s Punjab affairs in-charge Jarnail Singh said that after Delhi, his party is sweeping Punjab. “The people of the state had faced a lot of problems during the previous regimes and had pinned hopes on the AAP,” he said, adding that a new beginning for Punjab has started and state will become prosperous now.
Targeting the Congress and the BJP, he said, “These parties never talked of the welfare of the common people.”
“The trends are showing an overwhelming majority for our party and it shows that the people of Punjab have reposed faith in the Delhi Model of governance,” Sukhwinder Singh, an AAP supporter, said in Dhuri, the bastion of the party’s chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann.
Lakhwinder Singh, another AAP supporter, was seen dancing to the beats of the dhol in Kharar constituency.
“Those parties which until yesterday were questioning exit poll surveys which showed a clear majority to the AAP will have no face to show now,” he said, while distributing sweets to other supporters.
Big guns trail in early trends
Among those who were trailing in early trends included chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi. Channi is trailing from his seat Chamakur Sahib, from where he is the sitting MLA and Bhadaur, the second seat from where he had entered the fray.
Former chief ministers Parkash Singh Badal, Capt Amarinder Singh and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal were also trailing, early trends showed.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal was also behind in his Jalalabad seat by 2,000 votes over his nearest rival and AAP candidate Jagdeep Kamboj.
Counting of votes for 117 assembly seats in Punjab began at 8am on Thursday amid tight security arrangements.
According to data available on the Election Commission website at 10.30am, in Lambi, former chief minister and sitting MLA Parkash Singh Badal was trailing behind his nearest AAP rival Gurmeet Singh Khudian by 3,103 votes.
In Patiala Urban, where Punjab Lok Congress chief and former CM Capt Amarinder Singh is the sitting MLA, AAP candidate Ajit Pal Singh Kohli was leading by 7,767 votes.
In Lehra, AAP candidate Barinder Kumar Goyal was leading over SAD (Sanyukt) candidate Parminder Singh Dhindsa by a margin of 13,962 votes. Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal who was also fighting from Lehra was trailing.
Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia were trailing from Amritsar East seat. AAP candidate Jeevanjyot Kaur was leading over her nearest rival Majithia by 590 votes.
Sidhu is the sitting MLA from Amritsar East.
Punjab finance minister and Congress leader Manpreet Singh Badal was trailing over his nearest AAP rival Jagroop Singh Gill from Bathinda Urban by 9,931 votes.
From Pathankot, Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma was leading over his nearest Congress rival and sitting MLA Amit Vij by 2,500 votes.
