Punjab byelections: Nearly 50% polling recorded till 3pm

A voter turnout of nearly 50% was recorded till 3pm in the bypolls to four assembly segments in Punjab on Wednesday, officials said.
Polling began at 7am and would continue till 6pm.
Bypolls to the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala assembly segments were necessitated after the incumbent lawmakers were elected to the Lok Sabha.
A voter turnout of 49.61 per cent was registered till 3pm, officials said, adding Gidderbaha seat recorded 65.8% polling, Dera Baba Nanak 52.2%, Barnala 40% and Chabbewal 40.25%.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann appealed to voters to participate for Punjab’s bright future. “I appeal to voters of the four constituencies where byelections are being held today to use their right to vote keeping in mind the Baba Sahib and the martyrs’ dreams of Punjab. Vote for whomever you want but vote according to your own will. For the bright future of Punjab, do your duty. Don’t consider today a holiday, go and vote,” Mann posted on X.
Among those who cast their votes in the morning included Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Barnala BJP candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon, Chabbewal BJP nominee Sohan Singh Thandal, Dera Baba Nanak Congress candidate Jatinder Kaur and her husband and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Barnala Congress nominee Kuldeep Singh Dhillon.
Speaking to reporters, Hayer exuded confidence that the voters of Barnala would vote for the AAP and claimed that the Punjab government carried out many development works in the assembly constituency for the past two-and-a-half years.
Congress, AAP workers clash in Gurdaspur
At Dera Pathana village in Dera Baba Nanak segment, a clash broke out between the AAP and Congress supporters. Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who is the husband of Congress nominee Jatinder Kaur, alleged that some “outsiders” at the behest of the AAP thrashed his party worker in the village and also accused the police of not taking action.
However, AAP nominee Gurdeep Singh Randhawa rejected Randhawa’s allegations as baseless.
Workers of both the warring factions engaged in heated arguments. A heavy police force was deputed at the site to defuse the situation.
45 candidates in poll fray
Forty-five candidates, including three women, are in the fray for the bypolls. A total of 6.96 lakh voters, including 3.31 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise at 831 polling stations.
Among the key contestants in the fray are former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Kewal Singh Dhillon, Sohan Singh Thandal and Ravikaran Singh Kahlon (BJP), Amrita Warring and Jatinder Kaur (Congress), and Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon and Ishank Kumar Chabbewal (AAP).
Amrita is the wife of the Congress’ Punjab chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Jatinder Kaur is the spouse of Gurdaspur MP and former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
The Shiromani Akali Dal has opted to stay away from the bypolls. The party took the decision not to participate in the bypolls after Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has now resigned as the party president, failed to get any temporary relief from the Akal Takht, which declared him ‘tankhaiya’ (person guilty of religious misconduct), for the “mistakes” committed by his party and government from 2007-17.
At present, the AAP has 91 MLAs in the 117-member Punjab assembly, while the Congress has 15, Shiromani Akali Dal three, BJP two, and the Bahujan Samaj Party one. One seat is held by an Independent MLA.