The stage is set for polling in Mohali district’s three assembly constituencies, where 7.94 lakh voters will decide the fate of 40 candidates on Sunday.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM) jumping into the electoral battle, all three seats – Mohali (urban), Kharar and Dera Bassi – will witness a tough, multi-cornered contest.
Three-time Congress MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu is hoping for a fourth term from Mohali, while two-time Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA NK Sharma is also aiming for a hat-trick from Dera Bassi.
Owner of Janta Land Promoters Limited and Punjab’s richest candidate, with assets worth ₹250 crore, Kulwant Singh is Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) candidate from Mohali, where BJP has fielded industrialist Sanjeev Vashisht, SAD-BSP Parvinder Singh Sohana and SSM Ravneet Brar.
Another prominent name in realty in Mohali, Ranjit Singh Gill is SAD’s face from Kharar, where other key contenders are Congress’ Vijay Kumar Sharma, AAP’s Anmol Gagan Mann, BJP’s Kamaldeep Singh Saini and SSM’s Paramdeep Singh Baidwan.
In Dera Bassi, another realtor Sanjeev Khanna is the BJP nominee, who, apart from the sitting MLA, is up against Congress’ Deepinder Singh Dhillon, AAP’s Kuljeet Singh Randhawa, BJP’s Sanjeev Khanna and SSM’s Avtar Singh Jawaharpur. Multiple independent candidates will also give a fight to the major parties.
In the civic polls held last year in February, Congress had won 37 of the 50 seats in Mohali, while 10 were won by the Azad group, led by Kulwant Singh, and three went to independents.
{{/usCountry}}In the civic polls held last year in February, Congress had won 37 of the 50 seats in Mohali, while 10 were won by the Azad group, led by Kulwant Singh, and three went to independents.
{{/usCountry}}Congress also swept 13 of the 19 seats in Dera Bassi, while SAD was restricted to three. Two seats were won by independents and one went to BJP.
In Kharar, Congress won 10 of the 27 seats, eight each went to SAD and independents, and one to AAP. Congress’ winning streak continued in Zirakpur as well where it claimed 23 of the total 31 seats, while eight were clinched by SAD.
Highest number of voters in Dera Bassi
At 2.88 lakh, the highest number of voters in the district is in Dera Bassi constituency.
Dera Bassi also saw the highest voter turnout (76.06%) in 2017, followed by Kharar with 72.93% and Mohali with 66.39%.
Even in 2012, the three constituencies registered a similar trend with turnouts of 79%, 78% and 70.62%, respectively.
Deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer Isha Kalia said, “All arrangements have been done. Polling will take place from 8am to 6pm. Electronic voting machines (EVMs), along with other election-related material, have been sent to respective polling booths. We are expecting a high turnout due to intensive awareness campaigns.”
She said a total of 907 polling booths had been set up in the three assembly constituencies. Among these 320 are in Dera Bassi, 316 in Kharar and 271 in Mohali (urban).
As many as 3,700 personnel from district police force and various central armed police forces will maintain vigil to ensure smooth conduct of the elections.