Big gains for Cong in city, BJP’s 3 turn into loss

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 11

With the Congress winning five out of the total nine Assembly constituencies in Jalandhar this year and the SAD winning four, it’s been a major win for the former across these seats, all of which it had lost in the 2012 Assembly poll.

While the Congress has won Kartarpur, Jalandhar West, Jalandhar Central, Jalandhar North and Jalandhar Cantt, the biggest victory margins in Jalandhar have also been seen by the Congress candidates. The biggest wins have all been registered by the Congress candidates as well in the district.

In Jalandhar North, Bawa Henry won by 32,291 votes. While Henry Junior won by the biggest margin in Jalandhar, receiving 69,715 votes, his victory margin against incumbent BJP MLA KD Bhandari – who got 37,424 votes – was of 32,291 votes.

In Jalandhar Cantt, Pargat Singh won by a margin of 29,124 votes. While Pargat also won as SAD’s candidate last time from Cantt, this time he got 59,394 votes, defeating Akali candidate Sarabjit Singh Makkar who got 30, 335 votes.

Among other wins were Jalandhar Central, where Congress’ Rajinder Beri won by a margin of 24,078 votes, defeating BJP’s Manoranjan Kalia, who got 31,440 votes. Beri received 55,518 votes.

Another major victory was in the Jalandhar West constituency where Congress’ Sushil Rinku got 53,983 votes, defeating BJP’s Mahinder Pal Bhagat (who got 36,649 votes) by a margin of 17,334 votes.

While the SAD lost on both seats where two of its incumbent MLAs had been denied tickets (Avinash Chander from Phillaur and Sarwan Singh Phillaur from Kartarpur), the party won a total of four seats in Jalandhar which included Adampur (Pawan Tinu), Shahkot, Phillaur (Baldev Khaira) and Nakodar (Gurpratap Wadala).

The BJP could not retain even a single seat which it had won in 2012. While the party won three of the urban seats in Jalandhar — Jalandhar West, Jalandhar North and Jalandhar Central – the candidates on all these three seats lost this time.

Among big wins, SAD Nakodar candidate Gurpartap Singh Wadala also won by a huge margin of 18,407 votes.Wadala got 56,241 votes, leaving behind AAP candidate Sarwan Singh Hayer, who got 37, 834 votes. 

586 votes remain uncounted in Jalandhar Central 

• A technical snag hit the counting process at Jalandhar Central seat in the fourth round. 
• The counting of 586 votes was being done, but the EVM did not give a proper display. Technicians were called in, but the problem could not be rectified till 5 pm. 
• A report was sent to the ECI. On an undertaking by Congress candidate Rajinder Beri who was already winning by a margin of 31,440 votes, the result was withheld.

‘Clash of councillors’ at Jalandhar West

• It was truly a ‘clash of the titans’ at Jalandhar (west) constituency where three of the Municipal councillors, including a former city mayor, contested the Assembly elections this time.
• While Congress councillor Sushil Rinku was declared the winner who won by a margin of more than 17,334 votes, it was a futile attempt for independent candidate and former Mayor Surinder Mahey who could only win 1,345 votes.
• Although AAP candidate Darshan Lal Bhagat who joined the party after leaving BJP posed a tough fight against Rinku, he could only win 15,286 votes.
• Not only Jalandhar Central, even Adampur and Kapurthala constituency too had a councillor in the poll fray, where Hansraj Rana of AAP lost to SAD candidate Pawan Kumar Tinnu and SAD’s Paramjit Pamma lost to Rana Gurjit Singh, respectively.

Pargat breaks jinx in Cantt

For the first time in the history of the elections in Jalandhar Cantonment, there has been a candidate who has been repeated as an MLA here. Pargat Singh, who was SAD MLA from Jalandhar Cantonment, has won again from this seat but as Congress candidate. The issue of change of site for Solid Waste Management project, over which he left CPS post and Akali Dal, perhaps came to his rescue. The support of cricketer Navjot Sidhu perhaps too was an added factor.

No candidate from this seat has ever won again, be it Jagbir Brar, Gurkanwal Kaur, Balbir Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Saroop Singh or Rajinder Singh, who had re-contested after having won in the previous elections.