Punjab: Cong wins 8 seats, SAD-BJP 4 & AAP leads on 1
Chandigarh, May 23: Congress has won eight parliamentary seats in Punjab, bucking the pro-Modi trend seen across northern and central India in this general election.
Out of the total 13 seats in the state, Congress romped home to impressive victory on eight seats, surprising both the SAD-BJP combine and the Aam Aadmi Party and improving its tally from three in 2014. It had won Gurdaspur in a bypoll in 2017.
The Akali Dal-BJP alliance won on four seats and the AAP was leading on one.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, former Union ministers Manish Tewari and Preneet Kaur, and Ravneet Singh Bittu were among the prominent leaders who won in Punjab.
Major upsets in the poll outcome were Union minister and BJP nominee Hardeep Singh Puri, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and SAD candidate Prem Singh Chandumajra.
Akali Dal managed to win only two seats against four it pocketed in last general election.
BJP won Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur but failed again to break the "jinx" of not winning Amritsar.
AAP appeared routed from Punjab, leading on only one seat out of the 13 it contested. It had surprised many in 2014 Lok Sabha election when it had won four seats in the state.
In 2014 polls, while the SAD-BJP combine had won six seats, AAP and Congress had bagged four and three seats, respectively.
Since the counting of votes began 8 am, Congress continuously maintained lead in the eight constituencies it finally won Amritsar, Faridkot, Anandpur Sahib, Jalandhar, Khadoor Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala.
Punjab Chief Minister and Congress leader Amarinder Singh's wife and two-time MP Preneet Kaur defeated SAD candidate Surjit Singh Rakhra by 1.62 lakh votes in Patiala.
The party's Manish Tewari won from Anandpur Sahib by trouncing veteran Akali leader Prem Singh Chandumajra by more than 46,000 votes.
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal were the only SAD candidates who won their respective Ferozepur and Bathinda seats, both considered the party's stronghold.
Former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal fought against turncoat and Congress candidate Sher Singh Ghubaya and defeated him with a margin of over 1.98 lakh votes.
Harsimrat Kaur was re-elected from Bathinda for the third time, defeating Congress candidate Amrinder Singh Raja Warring with a margin of 21,772 votes.
A major highlight of the poll outcome was BJP candidate Sunny Deol's win. He wrested Gurdaspur seat from Congress heavyweight Sunil Jakhar by over 82,000 votes.
Ravneet Singh Bittu, a two-time MP and grandson of former chief minister Beant Singh, retained his Ludhiana seat by defeating Lok Insaaf Party nominee Simarjeet Singh Bains by over 76,000 votes.
Winning the majority of constituencies in Punjab, despite a "Modi wave", would strengthen the stature of CM Amarinder Singh who almost single handedly rode his party to victory.
The impressive performance by the Congress would also mean voters did not fall for the rival parties' pitch that Amarinder Singh had reneged on his party's poll promises.
The SAD, which was looking to resurrect itself following a backlash over the issue of desecration of religious texts, could manage to win only two seats, out of the 10 it contested.
Despite fielding old warhorses from several constituencies, including Jagir Kaur (Khadoor Sahib), Gulzar Singh Ranike (Faridkot), Charanjit Singh Atwal (Jalandhar), Prem Singh Chandumajra (Anandpur Sahib) and Parminder Singh Dhindsa (Sangrur), SAD contestants were badly trailing.
The AAP, in spite of party chief Arvind Kejriwal's extensive campaigning in Punjab, was set to win only Sangrur constituency, from where party's state unit head Bhagwant Mann is contesting, against his rival Kewal Singh Dhillon of the Congress.
The poll prospects for AAP were not bright from the beginning because of internal bickering and desertions and Bhagwant Mann was the best bet for the party in these polls.
Punjab Democratic Alliance, a conglomeration of several outfits led by Sukhpal Khaira's Punjabi Ekta Party, also failed to offer third front in Punjab's politics as none of its candidate could make a mark except Lok Insaaf Party's (part of PDA) Simarjit Singh Bains finished second after losing to Bittu from Ludhiana. Khaira finished a poor fourth in Bathinda.
However, the poll outcome saw some support to the candidates of the Bahujan Samaj Party (part of the PDA) on Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar and Anandpur Sahib seats as its contestants were at the third position in these constituencies.
A total of 10 sitting parliament members and nine assembly legislators of different political outfits tried their luck during this election.
The vote share of Congress grew to 40.13 per cent while Akali Dal's was 27.45.
AAP's vote share nosedived to 7.38 per cent while BJP and BSP's was 9.63 and 3.49 per cent, respectively, as per the EC data.
In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Congress party's vote share was 33.10 and SAD's was 26.30 per cent. AAP and BJP's vote share percentage was 24.40 and 8.70.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
