Malwa: Brisk polling in crucial belt

Aman Sood

Patiala, February 20

Punjab woke up to a sunny morning on Sunday with long queues at various polling stations in the Malwa belt — believed to hold the key to the formation of the next government. Majority of the voters were youngsters, eager to exercise thier franchise for “change” in this belt where three chief ministerial faces and three former CMs are in the fray.

3 CM candidates in fray

Bhagwant Mann Dhuri

Sukhbir Badal Jalalabad

Charanjit Channi Bhadaur

Minus the stray incidents of violence, the Malwa belt, comprising 69 Vidhan Sabha seats, voted peacefully with a few FIRs registered for poll code violation and minor skirmishes among workers.

The entire Malwa region saw constant strategy modifications, midway course correction and change of tactics by political parties in the run -up to the high-stakes Assembly elections. The general mood witnessed at various places in the Malwa belt was for change.

Punjab Lok Congress founder and former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said he was sure of a win in the Assembly elections. “As per reports, the Congress will be wiped out from Punjab,” he said, after casting his vote.

Brisk polling was witnessed in all districts of the Malwa region, including Bathinda, Muktsar, Mansa, Ferozepur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Faridkot, Fazilka, Moga, Sangrur and Ropar, where the turnout was heavy. Women and youth voters outnumbered men at many polling booths. They started queuing at the polling booths even before the polling time. “I have come to vote for the first time and play my role in the formation of the new government in the state. We need an accountable government and a responsible Opposition,” said Aadishwar Ahluwalia, a law student at Punjabi University.

In Patiala, 72.5 per cent votes were polled. In Ferozepur, around 70 per cent people exercised their franchise. There were minor skirmishes reported also.

At some places, EVM machines developed snag and were replaced.

Earlier in the day, the situation became tense when Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BJP workers clashed at Gatti Rajoke village in Ferozepur. An AAP worker was injured in the clash. In another incident, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress workers clashed at Mallanwala block in Zira segment. Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan and SSP Narinder Bhargav reached the spot to control the situation. In Patiala, a person was injured in a fight between supporters of Congress and Akalis.

In Sangrur, Barnala and Malerkotla districts, voters came out in large numbers. The polling in Bathinda and Mansa remained by and large peaceful, except an incident of firing in the air and attack on the vehicle of SAD former Councillor Harjinder Tony at Naruana Road in Amarpura Basti. The polling was 76.20 per cent in Bathinda. Three Assembly constituencies of Faridkot district recorded 66.53 per cent polling at 5 pm. The Faridkot constituency recorded 76 per cent voting.

The turnout in the Kotkapura and Jaito constituencies was 65.90 and 66.67 per cent, respectively. The voter turnout in Ludhiana was recorded at 64 per cent till 7.15 pm, with district officials saying the figures may go up slightly when the entire data is tabulated. This was over 10 per cent less than 74.74 per cent polling recorded in the district during the 2017 Assembly elections, which gave eight seats to the Congress, three to the AAP, two to the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) and one to the SAD. Ludhiana’s voter turnout was also over 4 per cent less than the state’s average of 68.5 per cent polling.

For the first time AAP and BJP added a lot of spice to the high-voltage elections, with AAP riding high on its popularity graph among the youth, especially in villages. Even as the SAD-BSP combine and BJP and its allies are all confident of a victory, it seems to be a close call on majority of the seats. It all now leads to a wait and watch game till the final results are out on the counting day on March 10.

The three chief ministerial candidates in fray from Malwa include AAP’s Bhagwant Mann from Dhuri, SAD’s Sukhbir Singh Badal from Jalalabad and Congress CM face Charanjit Singh Channi. Former CMs whose fates were sealed in Malwa today include Punjab Lok Congress candidate Capt Amarinder Singh from Patiala (urban), Rajinder Kaur Bhattal of Congress and former CM Parkash Singh Badal from Lambi.

(With inputs from Bathinda, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Faridkot & Sangrur)

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