Dakha bypoll: Seven candidates poll fewer votes than NOTA

As many as 642 voters opted for NOTA in the constituency

The Dakha bypoll brought a humiliating defeat for seven out of the total 11 candidates as the votes polled in their support were even less than those in favour of None of the Above (NOTA).

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As many as 642 voters opted for NOTA in the constituency.

Independent candidate Gurjeet Singh failed to even reach the triple-figure, managing only 89 votes. Independent candidates Gurdeep Singh Kahlon secured 226 votes, Joginder Singh Vegal 256, Simardeep Singh 340, Baldev Singh alias Dev Sarabha got 397 and Harbans Singh Jalal gets only 140 votes.

Comedian Jai Parkash Jain aka Titu Baniya, who had managed to secure 2,726 votes from Ludhiana during the Lok Sabha elections this year, could only get 535 votes this time.

In the 2017 Punjab assembly elections, 981 voters opted for NOTA and seven candidates had polled less than NOTA.

In 2017, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Jawinder Singh had got 652 votes only. Kulwant Singh of Apna Punjab Party had managed to get only 267 votes, while former MLA Tarsem Jodhan had been restricted to only 888 votes.