Punjab polls: Mohali’s voters rose by 1.25 lakh in five years

Compared to 6.68 lakh voters in 2017, this time Mohali – which comprises the Mohali Urban, Kharar and Dera Bassi assembly constituencies – will see 7.93 lakh voters sealing the fate of candidates in the February 20 elections

Since the last Punjab assembly elections in 2017, the electorate in Mohali district increased by 1.25 lakh voters, according to figures collated by the district administration.

Dera Bassi also saw the highest voter turnout (76.06%) in the 2017 Punjab assembly elections, followed by Kharar with 72.93% and Mohali with 66.39%. (HT File Photo)

Compared to 6.68 lakh voters in 2017, this time Mohali – which comprises the Mohali Urban, Kharar and Dera Bassi assembly constituencies – will see 7.93 lakh voters sealing the fate of candidates in the February 20 elections.

At 2.87 lakh, the highest number of voters in the district is in Dera Bassi constituency (see box). 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, a similar trend was seen between the three constituencies with turnouts of 79%, 78% and 70.62%, respectively.

At 2.87 lakh, the highest number of voters in the district is in Dera Bassi constituency. (HT)

Apart from the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP); the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM) and Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) have also joined the contest this time, setting up a multi-cornered fight for all three seats.

Among the prominent parties, in Mohali, three-time Congress MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu is again trying his luck, the SAD has declared Parvinder Singh Sohana as its candidate, the AAP has fielded former mayor and real estate baron Kulwant Singh, BJP’s pick is industrialist Sanjeev Vashisht, while the SSM has declared Ravneet Brar as its face.

In Kharar, the contest will primarily be between realtor Ranjit Singh Gill, who is the SAD candidate, Punjabi singer Anmol Gagan Mann, who has been fielded by the AAP and Congress nominee Vijay Kumar Tinku, apart from PLC’s Kamaldeep Saini and SSM’s Paramdeep Singh Baidwan.

SAD has again reposed faith in two-time MLA NK Sharma in its hope to clinch the Dera Bassi seat, for which AAP has fielded Kuljeet Singh Randhawa, BJP Sanjeev Khanna, Congress Deepinder Singh Dhillon and SSM Navjot Saini.

Deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer Isha Kalia said, “The election process will be conducted in a transparent manner. All necessary arrangements will be made to ensure free and fair elections in the district. We are hoping for a remarkable turnout this time as we have intensified the systematic voters’ education and electoral participation programme (SVEEP) activities, and are planning events to reach out to young and first-time voters.”