Nearly 72 per cent polling was recorded in Punjab, where polling was held for 117 assembly seats on Sunday. According to data shared by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Punjab on Monday evening, the last turnout in the state was 71.95 per cent. This is the lowest polling percentage compared to the last three assembly elections. In the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections, the polling percentage was 77.40. The percentages in 2007 and 2012 were 75.45 and 78.20 respectively. In the 2002 elections, the voting percentage was 65.14.
It took more than 24 hours for the Punjab CEO’s office to release the final polling figures after polling ended at 6 pm on Sunday. CEO S Karuna Raju said that out of a total of 2,14,99,804 voters, 1,54,69,618 exercised their franchise.
There were 81,33,930 male voters and 73,35,406 female voters while 282 were transgender. Polite EVMs have been shifted to 117 strong rooms at 66 places in the state. Raju said that as per the guidelines of the Election Commission, three-tier security has been deployed and security forces are keeping a strict vigil round the clock.
Among the 117 assembly constituencies, Giddarbaha in Muktsar district recorded the highest voter turnout of 84.93 per cent, followed by Talwandi Sabo with 83.70 per cent and Sardulgarh with 83.64 per cent. The lowest was recorded in Amritsar West at 55.40 per cent, Ludhiana South at 59.04 per cent and Amritsar Central at 59.19 per cent.
Chamkaur Sahib constituency, from where Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is seeking re-election, recorded 74.52 per cent polling, while Bhadaur from where he was also in the fray recorded 78.90 per cent. The Amritsar East constituency, from where Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia were contesting, saw a turnout of 64.05 per cent, much lower than the state average.
Dhuri, from where AAP’s chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann was trying his luck, saw 77.37 per cent voter turnout. The Lambi seat from where 94-year-old former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was contesting saw 81.35 per cent voter turnout.
The Patiala assembly constituency from where former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was contesting saw 63.58 per cent voter turnout. In Jalalabad, where SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was in the fray, 80 per cent voter turnout was recorded.
Lehra, from where former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal was contesting, recorded 79.60 per cent voter turnout, while Pathankot, where Punjab BJP president Ashwini Sharma was contesting, recorded 73.82 per cent voter turnout. Mansa, where singer Sidhu Musewala was contesting, recorded 78.99 per cent and Moga, from where actor Sonu Sood’s sister Malvika Sood Sachar was contesting, saw 70.55 per cent voter turnout. The 11 assembly constituencies were Zira, Gurharsahai, Jalalabad, Lambi, Fazilka, Giddarbaha, Bhucho Mandi, Talwandi Sabo, Maur, Sardulgarh and Budhlada where the turnout was more than 80 per cent. All these assembly constituencies are in Malwa region which has 69 seats out of total 117 assembly seats.
As per the data, the rural assembly constituencies witnessed heavy turnout as compared to the urban seats. It said that less than 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Amritsar West, Amritsar Central, Amritsar South and Ludhiana South seats.
The polling percentage in Malwa region was higher as compared to Majha and Doaba regions. In Malwa region, districts like Mansa, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Faridkot, Muktsar, Fazilka (except Abohar seat), Firozpur (except Firozpur city seat) and Bathinda (except Bathinda urban seat) registered more than 75 per cent polling Gone.
A total of 1,304 candidates, including 93 women and two transgenders, were in the fray. Punjab CEO Raju said that over 23 tonnes of COVID waste, including PPE kits, face masks, hand gloves, face shields, was generated from 24,740 polling stations in the state on election day. He said that with the help of District Nodal Officers of Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), the waste was collected and disposed of in an eco-friendly manner.
Raju said some minor election-related incidents were witnessed in the state and a total of 33 FIRs were registered on the day of polling to prevent any untoward incident. Raju said that out of the total 33 FIRs, 10 were related to minor clashes, 16 related to violation of prohibitory orders, three to election-related offences, three to other cases and one to firing incident.
Punjab witnessed a multi-cornered contest between the Congress, AAP, SAD-BSP, BJP-PLC-SAD (United) and the Samyukta Samaj Morcha (SSM), the political front of various farmers’ organisations. The ruling Congress was trying to retain power while the rival parties were trying to grab power.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) contested the elections in alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The BJP contested the elections in alliance with Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led SAD (United).
The SSM contested the elections with the Sanyukt Sangharsh Party led by Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni.
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