Lok Sabha Elections 2024: A voter turnout of 62.80 per cent has been recorded for the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sibin C said on Sunday. The 13 parliamentary constituencies of Punjab that went to polling on Saturday (June 1) saw an estimated voter turnout of 62.80 per cent, according to the data shared by the Election Commission.
As per the poll body data released on Sunday (June 2), Gurdaspur saw a voter turnout of (66.67 per cent), Amritsar (56.06 per cent), Khadoor Sahib (62.55 per cent), Jalandhar (59.70 per cent), Hoshiarpur (58.86 per cent), Anandpur Sahib (61.98 per cent), Ludhiana (60.12 per cent), Fatehgarh Sahib (62.53 per cent), Faridkot (63.34 per cent), Firozpur (67.02 per cent), Bathinda (69.36 per cent), Sangrur (64.63 per cent), and Patiala (63.63 per cent).
Punjab is all set for a four-cornered fight among AAP, the Congress, the Akali Dal and the BJP.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress, allies in the I.N.D.I.A bloc, separately contested the elections in the state. Meanwhile, the Punjab BJP filed a complaint with the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Saturday against the Chief Secretary and other erring officials for allegedly forcing MGNREGA workers to work despite there being a mandatory holiday throughout Punjab due to the general elections.
On the complaint by BJP Punjab to the CEO, the CEO directed all DCs to ensure to cast their votes. In a letter dated June 1 by Suneel Dutt Bhardwaj, Office Secretary, BJP Punjab Office, urged swift action be taken against the Chief Secretary and other erring officials of the State of Punjab.
Bathinda records highest voter turnout
Bathinda has recorded the highest turnout of 69.36 per cent, followed by Amritsar 56.06 per cent, Anandpur Sahib 61.98 per cent, Faridkot 63.34 per cent, Fatehgarh Sahib 62.53 per cent, Ferozepur 67.02 per cent, Gurdaspur 66.67 per cent and Hoshiarpur 58.86 per cent.
The CEO said that 59.70 per cent polling was recorded in Jalandhar, 62.55 per cent in Khadoor Sahib, 60.12 per cent in Ludhiana, 63.63 per cent in Patiala and 64.63 per cent in Sangrur. The counting of votes will take place at 117 centres at 24 locations on June 4.
As many as 328 candidates are in the fray. Prominent among them are BJP nominee and four-time MP Preneet Kaur, who is seeking re-election from the Patiala seat, and Shiromani Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a three-time MP who is trying her luck from Bathinda.
2019 poll results
In the previous Lok Sabha elections of 2019, the INC-led UPA alliance secured eight seats with a vote share of 40.6 per cent, while the NDA managed to secure four with a voting percentage of 9.7. The AAP, making its debut, secured one seat.
In 2019, the state ruling Congress had won eight seats- Amritsar, Faridkot, Anandpur Sahib, Jalandhar, Khadoor Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala seats- while the Akali Dal won Bathinda and Ferozepur, and the BJP secured victory from Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur seats. AAP won from Sangrur.
2014 poll results
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and AAP bagged 4 seats each while Congress secured 3 seats. The BJP managed to secure only two seats.
The voting for the 543-member Lok Sabha was held across seven phases over a period of 44 days from April 19-June 1. The counting will be done and results declared on June 4. Punjab had recorded a voter turnout of 65.96 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
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