Sarpanch named 18 hrs after polling concludes

After nearly five rounds of counting and 18 hours after the polling ended, the results of panchayat election of Sukhna Ablu village in Gidderbaha Assembly segment were declared around 10.30 am today.

Congress-backed candidate Surinderpal Kaur won the election of sarpanch by just one vote from AAP-backed candidate Manjinder Kaur.

The situation remained tense here until the results were declared. The supporters of all three sarpanch candidates – Surinderpal, Manjinder and Kuldeep Kaur – lodged a protest outside the school where the polling and counting took place.

PCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring had warned the district administration to face action, if any untoward incident happened. “I want the Gidderbaha SDM and all officials conducting the election at Sukhna Ablu to remain fair or get ready to face action,” Warring had said in a video uploaded on his Facebook page earlier in the day. He had further claimed in the video that the counting was being done for the fifth time and a candidate was first winning by five votes, but later the victory margin was being decreased to three votes.

Deepak Kumar Sethi, Presiding Officer for Sukhna Ablu, said, “The results were declared late as the victory margin was thin and the candidates were demanding recounting. Now, the results have been declared and the candidates are satisfied. Surinderpal polled 1,358 votes, while Manjinder got 1,357.”