Punjab bypoll: Polling peaceful in Barnala, 58% come out to cast vote

The Barnala assembly constituency recorded a low voter turnout of 58.1%. The polling remained peaceful with no reports of untoward incidents from any polling station

Barnala : The Barnala assembly constituency recorded a low voter turnout of 58.1%. The polling remained peaceful with no reports of untoward incidents from any polling station, said officials.

The Barnala assembly constituency recorded a low voter turnout of 58.1%. The polling remained peaceful with no reports of untoward incidents from any polling station, said officials.

According to the data released by the state election commission, only 58.1% of eligible voters cast their votes, marking a significant drop as compared to the 71.81% turnout in the 2022 assembly elections.

The Barnala seat fell vacant after Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency earlier this year.

AAP, which has held the Barnala seat since 2017, fielded Harinder Dhaliwal, a close confidant of Sangrur MP and former Barnala MLA Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer. However, Dhaliwal’s nomination led to internal party tensions, prompting the former district president Gurdeep Batth to contest as an Independent. This resulted in Batth’s expulsion from the party two weeks ago. Batth had served as AAP’s district president since 2018.

The Congress, buoyed by its recent success in the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, fielded a greenhorn, Kuldeep Singh Dhillon. The BJP nominated Kewal Singh Dhillon, two-time MLA from Barnala and former Congress leader.

Barnala deputy commissioner Poonamdeep Kaur expressed satisfaction with the smooth conduct of the election. “We ensured all necessary arrangements were in place for a peaceful and transparent election.”