It was a crowded affair in Punjab. Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal were all fighting for the 13 Lok Sabha seats.
Bring in Independent candidates in the mix, and Punjab was sure to throw a surprise.
And the final results reflected that.
The Congress managed to win six seats in the border state. Its INDIA bloc partner AAP, which has managed to secure win in Assembly polls 2 years ago, decided to go solo in the state. However, AAP was met with a drubbing from its INDIA bloc ally.
The Aam Aadmi Party managed to clinch victory on 3 seats.
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Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal, which had parted ways with the BJP, managed to win just one seat. Harsimrat Kaur Badal won from Bathinda, defeating AAP candidate Gurmeet Singh Khudian and Congress’s Jeetmohinder Sidhu.
Meanwhile, two Independent candidates- Amrtipal Singh and Sarabjit Singh Khalsa- managed to win from Khadoor Sahib and Faridkot respectively.
Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh is presently lounging in Assam jail after he was arrested in April last year. The separatist leader is facing action under the National Security Act (NSA). His father, Tarsem Singh, claimed he was contesting the election at the request of his supporters.
Sarabjit Singh Khalsa, the other Independent candidate who won from Punab, is the son of one of the assassins of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Sarabjit Singh experienced repeated setback in past 20 years in Lok Sabha and Assembly polls before managing to secure victory this election.
The BJP, on the other hand, has drawn a blank in Punjab this election.