Youngest and oldest contestants win in Punjab polls

The results of Punjab Assembly polls which saw a resurgent Congress returning to power after a gap of 10 years on Saturday witnessed the youngest and oldest contenders in the elections romp home to victory.

89-year-old Parkash Singh Badal, who is also patron of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), kept his winning streak intact by overcoming a challenging elections towards the fag end of his political carrier.

Saturday’s win was his 11th entry to the state assembly since 1957 when he fought his first election.

He retained his traditional Lambi Assembly seat by beating Congress heavyweight Amarinder Singh by a margin of 22,770 votes. Notably, Amarinder had entered the electoral battle from his pocket borough Patiala seat also and ended up winning from there again.

Meanwhile, the youngest contestant in fray Davinder Singh Ghubaya (25), who is son of estranged SAD MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, edged past BJP leader and cabinet minister Surjit Kumar Jyani from Fazilka seat.

Davinder, a political greenhorn, won be a slander margin of 265 votes against Jyani.