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Capt rubs it in as Cong dents SAD citadel
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Despite loss, AAP makes presence felt
Residents pin high hopes on Amarinder
Traders expect stronger business ties with Pak
LS verdict lowers Cong, BJP workers’ morale
3 accused remanded in police custody
Mother, son held for teenager's rape
Delhi resident booked
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Capt rubs it in as Cong dents SAD citadel
The drubbing received by the BJP-SAD in the urban areas is the result of the anti-incumbency against the state government. Issues like property tax, drug addiction and increase in prices of sand and gravel put the ruling combine on the backfoot. Property tax remained a major issue all through the campaign and both Amarinder and Jaitley were engaged in a war of words over it. The Congress' lead in the urban segments increased to over 1.25 lakh as compared to 45,000 votes last time. Amarinder got the maximum lead from the Amritsar West constituency, represented by Congress MLA Dr Rajkumar Verka. He was ahead by 36,957 votes, which is three time more than the winning margin of Verka during the 2012 Assembly elections. Verka had won by 11,591 votes. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had led from Amritsar West by over 20,000 votes. The Congress also capitalised on infighting in the SAD and the BJP in the Amritsar East Assembly constituency. which is represented by Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu. The Congress took a lead of 32,198 votes from the Assembly segment. The ruling alliance was clearly a divided house in Amritsar East as Dr Sidhu did not campaign in the municipal wards represented by SAD councillors. Moreover, the denial of ticket to Navjot Singh Sidhu also damaged Jaitley’s poll prospects. In the Amritsar South Assembly segment, which is represented by SAD MLA Inderbir Singh Bolaria, Amarinder was ahead by 21,897 votes despite the fact that the ruling alliance had given a jolt to the Congress by inducting its leader Navdeep Singh Goldy into the SAD fold ahead of polling. Besides, the SAD had also pacified party leader Gurpartap Singh Tikka on the eve of the elections. In the Amritsar North constituency, represented by Punjab Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi, Amarinder got a lead of 18,726 votes, which was a setback for the minister. The minister tendered his resignation, owning moral responsibility for Arun Jaitley’s defeat. In Amritsar Central, Amarinder got a lead of 18,996 votes. Here, the BJP was hoping to gain after the induction of senior Congress leader Prof Darbari Lal into the party a day before the polling on April 30. On the other hand, Amarinder and Jaitley won an equal number of rural Assembly segments. Jaitley was ahead by 20,651 votes in the Majitha Assembly segment. He was ahead in Rajasansi by 15,622 votes. Similarly, Amarinder bagged the Attari Assembly segment by 9,940 votes. He was ahead by 356 votes in the Ajnala Assembly segment.
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Despite loss, AAP makes presence felt
Amritsar, May 16 A noted eye surgeon, Dr Daljit Singh got the maximum votes in urban assembly segments. This was expected as the party was supported by urban voters, particularly the educated class and the youth. Moreover, Dr Daljit's campaign was focused more on the urban areas. His door-to-door campaign in different areas of the city won him the support of the people who were disillusioned with main political parties. He got the maximum support from Amritsar South. He got 14,583 votes here while getting a considerable number of votes in Amritsar West (13,739 votes) and Amritsar North (13,045 votes). In the Amritsar East Assembly segment, he got 11,857 votes. The only urban segment where he could not touch the five digit mark was Amritsar Central where he got 7,059 votes. Dr Daljit's performance in rural Assembly segment was miserable. He got 7,988 votes in Attari. It was followed by Majitha (5,742 votes) and Ajnala ( 4,643 votes), and Rajasansi (3,963 votes).
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Residents pin high hopes on Amarinder
Amritsar, May 16 As the countdown began on early Friday morning, citizens glued to their television sets, others their mobile phones and computer screens to get minute-by-minuteupdates. As most chose to stay home, watching the ups and downs that each half hour of counting brought about, the results were nothing short of a
thrill .  The early phase of counting in the city was in Jaitley's favour. But later in the day, Capt Amarinder Singh won with a considerable margin. The vote count margins kept changing every hour, so one had to follow it closely. Taking a cue from the extensively televised election campaigns, the news portals and channels had live coverage for every minute update on counting, reactions and discussions as India slowly headed towards a Modi-led government. "The results were quite unpredictable because nobody expected a clean sweep by the BJP. Also surprising was the loss of senior Congress leaders and even Rahul Gandhi's Amethi seat had several ups and downs during the counting. It made for an interesting watch," said Rahul Sharma, a city based-businessman. Even social platforms like Facebook and Twitter were busy, with users posting comments, news flash and reactions over the results. "I hosted a couple of like-minded friends to watch the results together as the people’s mandate in the city went against the national mandate,” said Ashok Setia, a businessman from Putlighar. Meanwhile, Manisha Nagi, a marketing professional, said, “Just as a new, strong government at the Centre has given new hope of growth, Capt Amarinder Singh, too, is elected with hopes of development. He is a former CM and prepared to tackle issues that need attention. I expect him to work towards generating employment and get direct funds from the Centre for development. I believe a progressive Centre and Capt Amarinder Singh's stature as a leader will benefit the city.
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Traders expect stronger business ties with Pak
Amritsar, May 16 He averred that since Modi came from a border state, he understood the pain and suffering brought by war." His model in Gujarat worked wonders. The people of India, especially from the border areas, will gain from his experience." Another trader, Rajan Bedi, said the traders had anticipated a strong government at the Centre that would be able to take firm decisions. "The traders have been demanding the starting of the movement of containers across the border and round-the-clock trade between both the countries for long," he said. "The Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIDC) via Delhi must be extended up to Attari to expedite the delivery of merchandise to other parts of the country. Otherwise, a cargo would have to be unloaded at Attari and then to be re-loaded at Amritsar for further journey," Bedi said. He said the extension of the corridor would generate plenty of jobs and revive the industry in the northern region. Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII) National Council on Public Policy member Gunbir Singh said the nation had voted for development and good governance. "The NDA, with an overwhelming majority, has been given a historic opportunity. But there are high expectations from the new government. We hope that the mandate will ensure inclusive growth and a progressive India.” Singh said Punjab had belied the national mood and delivered a fractured verdict. "The incumbent government should introspect and deliver on the expectations of the people. With three years to go for polls in the state and a NDA government at the Centre, there is an opportunity for the state government to boost investment and create more jobs," he said. Piara Lal Seth, general secretary, Shawl Club India, said the economy of Amritsar relied on agriculture, textile, iron nails, nuts and bolts and the manufacturing of printing machinery. "The textile sector is the second largest employment provider after agriculture. The sector is facing tough times and need support from the Central Government,” he said.
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LS verdict lowers Cong, BJP workers’ morale
Amritsar, May 16 A drummer, Beera, said in anticipation of a good business after the announcement of the results, they were in touch with the leaders of all parties. However, their hopes were dashed as Congress workers did not call them. Meanwhile, BJP workers were also lacking in enthusiasm. A sweetmeat shop owner, Nanak Chand, said," All expectation of doing a brisk business fell flat. He said apart from a few boxes of sweets ordered by some Congress supporters, no order was placed by any party. Meanwhile, the district BJP office wore a deserted look. Some junior leaders admitted that the defeat of Arun Jaitley was a big jolt to the local workers and district office-bearers. They said the local BJP leadership felt that they failed to convince the electorate. Hence, they kept the celebrations a low key affair. Similarly, the mood at the Congress office was grim. Not enough workers were present at the office. However, those present at the office expressed satisfaction over the victory of Amarinder.
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ATTACK ON VINEET MAHAJAN PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service
Amritsar, May 16 The police had yesterday arrested Ashok Kumar Ghocha, Rajkumar, alias Raju, and Pawan Kumar for allegedly attacking Vaneet Mahajan when he was heading towards the railway station in his car. He was accompanied by his brother, Avneesh Mahajan, and his friend, Avtar Singh, who also sustained serious injuries in the attack. Meanwhile, the police have also recovered the SUV vehicle PB-01-A-1938 used in the crime which was reportedly recovered from Hoshiarpur area. The accused had fled on this vehicle as came into light in the CCTV footage procured by the police from the bank located nearby the spot. Vavinder Mahajan, SHO Civil Lines police station said that the vehicle was recovered following the tip off provided by the three accused. It has been reliably learnt that they had fled to Himachal Pradesh after the crime. Police officials had revealed that the accused had attacked Mahajan and his brother following personal enmity. However, the Mahajan had rejected this theory. Mahajan in his FIR had categorically named Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi while alleging the attack was carried out at his behest. The police have booked a BJP Councillor Prabhjit Rataul along with nine others in the case. Among the others who have been booked include Tarsem Singh, Batao, Sabu, Raman, Vicky and Vishal. The investigations so far pointed out that the person who had been attacking Vaneet Mahajan shown in the CCTV footage were Raman and Vishal. The SHO said raids were being conducted to nab the remaining culprits who have been absconding. Ashok Kumar Ghocha who was arrested by the police in the case is reportedly a BJP leader and supporter of Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi. Joshi furnishes bail bonds
* Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi today appeared before a court and furnished bail bonds of Rs 50,000 each in three cases, including two defamation cases filed by advocate Sandeep Gorsi and Vaneet Mahajan and a case of damaging a portion of hotel belonging to
Mahajan. * The court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him after he failed to appear before the court on May 3. Joshi had applied for the interim bail on May 8 and on May 12 and he was granted bail. *
Joshi today appeared before the court and furnished the bonds. Those who furnished the bonds on his behalf are Pawan Kumar of Chheharta, Satish Kumar of Ranjit Pura and Vijay Nayyar of New Garden Colony. BJP Councillor Preeti Taneja attested their identification.
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Mother, son held for teenager's rape
Amritsar, May 16 The victim, a Class XI student, had lodged a complaint with the police that the accused was stalking her for the past three years following which they became friends. She stated that a few days ago, the accused took her to his house and introduced her to his mother Asha Rani. Asha Rani had given her consent for their marriage, she added. The victim alleged that on April 30 Vishal took her to his house and raped her. Later, when she told about this to Asha, she threatened to kill her parents, if she disclosed it to anybody else. Harish Behal, SHO, Sadar police station, said Asha Rani used to arrange Vishal’s meeting with the victim. He said the accused had a criminal record. A case under Sections 376, 506 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against them while Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act has also been slapped on them. Medical examination of the girl was also done.
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Delhi resident booked
Amritsar, May 16 Sumit Arora, a resident of Rohini, Delhi, was booked under Sections 420, 465, 469, 500 and 506, IPC, at the Civil Lines police station in this regard. The victim identified as Sushma (name changed), Ram Nagar Colony, Islamabad, works in a three-star hotel in the city. She stated to the police that the accused was known to her and was pressurising her to marry him. She alleged that the accused was threatening her to harm her reputation. Varinder Mahajan, SHO, Civil Lines police station, said investigations were under progress and the accused would be arrested soon.
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Though it appeared to be a fierce poll battle between Captain Amarinder Singh of the Congress and BJP’s Arun Jaitley, a look at the votes polled in the urban areas in Amritsar clearly shows that the people voted for Amarinder Singh. 
The hopes of sweetmeat shops of doing a brisk business on counting day were dashed after Congress and BJP workers did not celebrate, owing to a peculiar situation created by the defeat of Arun Jaitley and decimation of the Congress in the country. This turn of events lowered the spirit of workers of both the parties.
Amritsar, May 16