Khadoor Sahib assembly bypoll on Saturday

The Khadoor Sahib assembly bypoll, rendered low-key by the absence of the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), will be held on Saturday. The result will be declared on Tuesday.

The Khadoor Sahib assembly bypoll, rendered low-key by the absence of the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), will be held on Saturday. The result will be declared on Tuesday.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal’s candidate, Ravinder Singh Brahmpura, son of Akali stalwart and Khadoor Sahib MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, is pitted against Congress rebel Bhupinder Singh Bittu and former AAP state convener Sumail Singh Sidhu. Apart from Bittu and Sidhu, the independent candidates are Anantjit Singh Saini, Sukhdev Singh Khosla and Harjit Singh, while Puran Singh is contesting for the Bahujan Samaj Party (Ambedkar).

The seat had fallen vacant late last year when sitting Congress MLA Ramanjit Singh Sikki resigned in protest against the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib.

District election officer-cum-deputy commissioner Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal said, “Of the 133 polling stations, 31 have been declared hyper-sensitive and 62 as sensitive. 150 micro-observers have been deployed.”

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manmohan Sharma said tight security arrangements had been made to ensure free and fair polling. He added that around 2,100 security personnel had been deployed, including about 1,500 from the Punjab Police and the rest from paramilitary forces.

BOX

In figures

1.87 lakh total voters

98,498 Male

88,681 Female

133 Polling stations

210 Polling booths

850 Polling staff

2,100 Security personnel