E-Paper
Punjab bypoll: Setback for AAP as SAD (A)’s Simranjit Mann leading in Sangrur
With almost 70% of the total votes counted, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president and former IPS officer Simranjit Singh Mann is leading with a margin of 5,592 votes in Punjab’s Sangrur bypoll
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president, Simranjit Singh Mann is leading in the crucial Lok Sabha bypoll from Punjab’s Sangrur, the home turf of chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Bhagwant Singh Mann.
The final outcome is yet to come but the trends are considered as a setback for the ruling party.
The bypoll was held just three months after the formation of the Aam Aadmi party government in the state after the party registered a sweeping victory in Punjab in general and Sangrur in particular in the assembly elections in March 2022.
With almost 70% of the total votes counted, Simranjit Singh Mann is leading with a margin of 5,592 votes. Mann has won the majority of rounds of counting.
Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and Khalistan ideologue Mann struck a chord with the voters by riding on the anti-government wave after the murder of singer Sidhu Moose Wala. Mann is leading from Malekotla, Barnala and Sunam assembly segments. He was elected as a member of Parliament (MP) from Sangrur in 1999.
For the AAP, chief minister Bhagwant Mann personally spearheaded the campaign and even Delhi chief minister and AAP Supermo Arvind Kejriwal also held road shows in the constituency. All ministers and 92 MLAs of the AAP camped in the constituency for a fortnight to campaign for the party’s candidate, Gurmail Singh, a protégé of the chief minister.
“The low turnout of 45% was an indicator that all was not well with the government. We have voted for badlav (change), which is not visible as bureaucrats are calling the shots and workers are neglected,” said an AAP leader requesting anonymity.
