Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Jeevan Jyot Kaur defeated Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on the Amritsar East Assembly seat in Punjab.
Amritsar (East) was witnessing a key battle where Navjot Sidhu, who was the sitting MLA from the seat, took on former state minister Bikram Singh Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the other hand fielded a female candidate Jeevan Jyot Kaur from the seat.
Jeevan Jyot Kaur won the Assembly constituency Amritsar East constituency by bagging total votes of 39,679. Trailing second behind the AAP candidate was Congress' Navjot Sidhu with 32,929 votes. Bikram Singh Majithia finished at the third spot with 25,188 votes.
Punjab witnessed a multi-cornered contest this time with Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance, and the coalition of Bharatiya Janata Party-former chief minister Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress party as key players.
According to the Election Commission of India, AAP has won 54 seats and is leading on 38 others at 3:57 PM in the 117 seat Punjab assembly.
As AAP is set to win Punjab, it will be the party's maiden victory in the state and a vast improvement from its performance in the 2017 elections when it had finished second behind Congress.
Congress went into the polls, battling factionalism and anti-incumbency. The party changed its Chief Minister in September last year even as the party's new state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu hinted about his own chief ministerial ambitions. Congress finally declared Charanjit Singh Channi as the first Dalit Chief Minister of Punjab, endorsing him for the chief ministerial face days before the polling on February 20.
The Shiromani Akali Dal, which had broken off the alliance with the BJP over the three farm laws that were eventually repealed, tied up with Bahujan Samaj Party for the Assembly elections.
It is the first time that the BJP fought on over 65 seats in Punjab. It tied up with former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress and SAD (Sanyukt) led by SS Dhindsa.
Punjab recorded an average voter turnout of 65.50 per cent on February 20 compared to over 77 per cent in 2017.
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