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Lok Sabha bypoll: Sangrur records 45% turnout, worst since 1991
Amid a poor turnout of 45.3%, worst since 1991, the polling for the Sangrur Lok Sabha byelection went off peacefully on Thursday
Amid a poor turnout of 45.3%, worst since 1991, the polling for the Sangrur Lok Sabha byelection went off peacefully on Thursday, as the voters sealed the fate of 16 candidates, including three women, in the fray. The counting will take place on Sunday.
The polling that began amid tight security at 8am continued till 6pm. However, there were hardly any queues witnessed at polling stations across the nine assembly constituencies under the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat.
While urban voters clearly lacked enthusiasm, majority of the farmers and labourers were busy in paddy transplantation in rural areas, leading to the poor turnout.
According to figures shared by Sangrur deputy commissioner-cum-returning officer Jitendra Jorwal, with 48.26% votes polled, Dhuri segment saw the highest turnout, while Lehra witnessed the lowest at 43.1%. Malerkotla saw 47.66% polling, followed by 47.22% in Sunam, 46.77% in Dirba, 44.96% in Sangrur, 44.54% in Bhadaur, 43.8% in Mehal Kalan and 41.43% in Barnala.
“No incident of violence was recorded in any of the segments under the parliamentary constituency,” said Sangrur senior superintendent of police Mandeep Singh Sidhu.
The Sangrur parliament seat witnessed the worst turnout in 1991, when only about 11% voters cast their ballot amid militancy in the state. In the seven general elections and byelections held after that, the voting turnout remained between 62.5% (1999) and 77.2% (2014). The previous election saw 72.4% turnout (2019). There are 15.69 lakh eligible voters in Sangrur, according to the electoral records.
Mukesh Malaud, president of the Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee, said the paddy transplantation was one of the factors that affected the voting turnout. “A large number of labourers skipped this democratic exercise due to paddy transplantation besides other reasons,” he said.
Earlier, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Gurmail Singh, his wife and mother were among the first voters to cast their ballot at Gharachon village, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon and his family exercised their franchise at Barnala. Congress candidate Dalvir Singh Goldy voted in Dhuri.
In all 16 candidates were in fray, including four from recognised parties, three from unrecognised parties and nine independents. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, whose party fielded death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana’s sister Kamaldeep Kaur, in a statement thanked the voters after the polling concluded.
Punjab finance minister Harpal Cheema, education minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and state legislators Barinder Kumar Goyal, Labh Singh Ugoke and Kulwant Singh Pandori also cast their votes. Senior SAD (Sanyukt) leaders Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Parminder Singh Dhindsa voted at their native village Ubhawal.
The state election commission had set up nine pink booths, one for each constituency, to encourage participation of women voters. The polling staff at Lehra also distributed saplings to voters.
The parliamentary segment is a bastion of the AAP since 2014, when chief minister Bhagwant Mann won from here with a margin of over one lakh votes. He retained the seat in 2019, and surrendered it after winning the recent assembly elections from Dhuri. The AAP had also won all nine assembly segments here in the state elections.
