At 79.5%, Balachaur tops in Doaba

DEEPKAMAL KAUR

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

JALANDHAR, FEBRUARY 4

Barring a heated exchange between leaders of rival parties at some places, the 23 constituencies of Doaba saw peaceful polling today.

Like in 2012, Nawanshahr district (78.1 per cent) recorded the highest turnout in the region. While the poll percentage was 75.5 per cent in 2012 for the nine Assembly segments of Jalandhar district, it dropped to 73.16 per cent this time. The turnout was 75 per cent in Kapurthala district and 73 per cent in Hoshiarpur.

In the Gujjar-dominated Balachaur constituency, where ex-servicemen Brig Raj Kumar (AAP) and Major Jarnail Singh (Aapna Punjab Party) are contesting against four-time MLA Chaudhary Nand Lal and Congress nominee Darshan Manguwal, the poll percentage was the highest (79.53). It was the lowest in Jalandhar Central (67.7 per cent), currently represented by BJP MLA Manoranjan Kalia.

Banga reserved segment, where Congress MLA Tarlochan Soondh made the contest five-cornered with candidates of AAP, Congress, SAD and the BSP in the fray, saw a turnout of 77.11 per cent. In Phillaur (SC) segment, where former Punjab BSP president Avtar Singh Karimpuri is giving a tough fight to his rivals, the figure was 75.54 per cent.

The Jalandhar Cantonment seat, where Olympian and SAD-turned-Congress leader Pargat Singh is contesting against SAD’s former MLA Sarabjeet Makkar and AAP’s HS Walia, saw the poll percentage dropping from 70.61 in 2012 to 68.87.

Jalandhar North and Jalandhar West constituencies saw 72 per cent polling. The Hoshiarpur Assembly seat recorded a low turnout of 60.3 per cent. In Sham Churasi, where Dr Ravjot Singh is the AAP candidate, the turnout touched 75 per cent, highest in the seven constituencies of Hoshiarpur district. First-time voters received appreciation letters in Hoshiarpur, signed by the Deputy Commissioner.

In Jalandhar Cantonment and Jalandhar Central constituencies, the EVMs equipped with VVPAT facility developed snags. As many as 28 machines had to be changed in the Cantonment seat, with polling getting disrupted for 15-30 minutes at various booths.