The Aam Aadmi Party registered a landslide victory in the Punjab Assembly polls by wining 92 seats while the ruling Congress party faced a humiliating defeat, restricted to just 18 seats in the 117-member House.
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The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also received a major jolt as it could only win three seats while its alliance partner, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won one seat. The alliance of Bharatiya Janta Party-Punjab Lok Congress-Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) also failed to leave any mark as the BJP was able to register a win on only 2 seats, the other two partners failed to even open their account. One seat went to an Independent candidate.
Punjab Election Results 2022 | Updates
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According to the Election Commission data, the AAP secured 42.1% of popular vote while the Congress secured 22.98% vote share. The SAD was able to get 18.38% of the vote share while the BJP got only 6.60% of the popular vote. The BSP could secure 1.77% vote share. NOTA share was 0.71%.
The debut of farmer unions under the banner of ‘Samyukt Samaj Morcha’ (SSM) — an amalgamation of 22 Punjab based farmer outfits that actively participated against Centre controversial farm laws — also failed to make any political impact.
As many as 1,304 candidates were in the fray in the State which saw a voter turnout of around 72%, the lowest since 2007. In the 2017 Assembly polls, the Congress had registered a victory by winning 77 seats. The AAP had won 20 seats while the SAD won 15 and the BJP three seats.
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View detailed map of election results here
AAP’s Chief Ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann won from Dhuri securing 82,023 votes, defeating his nearest rival Dalvir Singh Goldy of the Congress. After its empathetic win, addressing party supporters announced that the oath-taking ceremony of the new Punjab cabinet will be held at Khatkarkalan in Nawanshahr district, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Mr. Mann, who won from Dhuri assembly constituency, taking a dig at previous government said that earlier government used to run from palaces, but now the new government shall function from villages and ‘Mohallas’, asserting the AAP government in true sense would be people’s government.
“You (people) have performed your responsibility, now it’s my turn,” he said, as he spoke from the rooftop of his residence. He said the within one month people will start to see the difference in governance. “We will follow the principles and ideals of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh and fulfill their dreams. The picture of constitution maker Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh will be installed in all government offices, and not of the Chief Minister from now,” he said.
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As the Congress faced one of its worst electoral drubbing, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi accepted the defeat and said, “I humbly accept the verdict of the people of Punjab and Congratulate @AamAadmiParty and their elected CM @BhagwantMann Ji for the victory. I hope they will deliver on the expectations of people,” he tweeted.
After the loss, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said the party accepts the mandate given by Punjabis. “As president of @Akali_Dal, I congratulate @AamAadmiParty, @AAPPunjab & their leader @BhagwantMann on their victory in Punjab poll. I offer them my sincerest good wishes for success and I am sure they will live up to the people’s expectations,” he added.
Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh congratulated the Aam Aadmi Party and its Chief Ministerial candidate Bhagwant Singh Man for an emphatic victory in the elections. He said people of Punjab have rejected the communal and divisive politics of the Congress party in Punjab by first rejecting one leader as Chief Minister for being a Hindu and then trying to play the caste factor.
Congress’s Charanjit Singh Channi lost to AAP’s Labh Singh with a margin of 37,558 votes from Bhadaur seat. The incumbent Chief Minister also lost from Chamkaur Sahib constituency as he was contesting from two seats. SAD patron and former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal lost to AAP’s Gurmeet Singh Khudian from Lambi seat by a margin of 11,396 votes while SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal lost to AAP’s Jagdeep Kamboj from Jalalabad seat by a margin of 30,930 votes. Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh lost from Patiala (Urban) by a margin of 19,873 votes to AAP’s Ajit Pal Singh. Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu and senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia also lost their elections.