Voting Begins For High-Stakes Jalandhar Lok Sabha Bypoll In Punjab

JALANDHAR, May 10: Polling began on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 morning for the high-stakes Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll where a four-cornered electoral battle is in the offing with the AAP, Congress, BJP, and Shiromani Akali Dal vying to outdo each other in the Dalit stronghold. Amid tight security arrangements, voting for the Jalandhar parliamentary constituency began at 8 am and will continue till 6 pm, said officials. There are a total 16,21,800 eligible voters, including 8,44,904 males, 7,76,855 females, and 41 transgenders in the constituency. Nineteen candidates, including four women, are in the fray. The counting of votes will take place on May 13. There are 1,972 polling stations in the constituency and 497 of them have been identified as critical, officials said. A dedicated women-only polling station has been set up in all nine assembly constituencies, which are part of the Jalandhar parliamentary seat.
The Jalandhar Lok Sabha (reserved) seat fell vacant following the death of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary. He suffered a cardiac arrest during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jalandhar's Phillaur in January this year. The AAP has fielded former MLA Sushil Rinku who quit the Congress to join the Punjab's ruling party while the Congress has shown its faith in Karamjit Kaur, the wife of Santokh Chaudhary. The BJP has fielded Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, a Dalit Sikh, who quit the Shiromani Akali Dal to join the saffron party. Atwal is the son of former Punjab Vidhan Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal who had also joined the BJP. The SAD has fielded its two-time MLA from Banga seat Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, who is a doctor. The SAD candidate is backed by its ally Bahujan Samaj Party. The Simranjit Singh Mann-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) has fielded Gurjant Singh. Punjab's ruling Aam Aadmi Party is hoping to mark its presence in the Lok Sabha by registering a victory in the bypoll.