Jalandhar Lok Sabha Bypoll: Result may go down to the wire

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, May 10

Owing to a low turnout of the voters of just 54.5 per cent for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll on Wednesday, it is now everyone’s guess that the margins between the candidates of various political parties would be low this time. The result of the voting will be declared on May 13.

Of the 16,21,800 voters, a total of 8,84,627 voters are learnt to have exercised their right to franchise. Phillaur had a maximum turnout of 1.11 lakh voters while Jalandhar Central had just about 82,328 voters casting their votes. Since it is a four-cornered contest between the AAP, Congress, BJP and Akali Dal, their will be a larger split of votes. The SAD (A) too is likely to do better than its previous performance. There were 19 candidates in fray and some voters are also expected to go for NOTA.

After having kept an attack against the ruling party workers for the whole day and having managed to bring out violation of the presence of outsider AAP MLAs and party workers in Jalandhar, all Opposition parties felt much elated on having taken the action.

Shahkot Congress MLA Hardev Laddi Sherowalia seemed most upbeat after an FIR was lodged against AAP MLA from Baba Bakala on his complaint. Laddi had also nabbed an AAP worker from Bhikhiwind and handed him over to the police. Laddi said, “The claims of the AAP to have got joined 5,000 workers including 500 sarpanches, panches and 50-60 councillors fell completely flat. Had so many people joined the party and started working for them, they would have helped them set up booths today. But this did not happen. They had to bring in MLAs and workers from outside”. Laddi had earlier been very close to now AAP candidate Sushil Rinku. But after ex-MLA Rinku left the Congress to become the AAP candidate, Laddi had started claiming that he would ensure Rinku’s defeat.

Phillaur MLA and son of Congress candidate Karamjit Chaudhary Vikramjit Chaudhary said, “The AAP MLAs from outside had come with great enthusiasm in Jalandhar today to ensure some gains for the party but we ensured that they all had to repent and feel humiliated when they left from here”.

Countering Laddi’s allegations, a senior AAP functionary who did not want to be named said, “Though we had got joined several persons, our party chose not to trust them, especially since most of them were joinees from other parties. We could not take a risk on such a crucial day and had to send our MLAs for a close supervision of booth management”.

AAP Nakodar MLA Inderjit Mann thanked the administration for a peaceful and fair poll. “The entire process went smoothly,” she claimed, adding that Congress booths were missing at some places. “I did not see it in Bir Pind to which I belong,” she said. Her rival Dr Navjot Dahiya said, “Outsider AAP workers were there in Nakodar too but we managed to convince them to leave immediately”.