72 per cent cast vote in Dhuri byelection

Sushil Goyal

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Tribune News Service

Sangrur, April 11

72 per cent polling was recorded in the Dhuri assembly constituency where byelection was held on Saturday as compared to 82.06 per cent voter turnout  in February 2012 assembly elections.

Polling was held in a peaceful manner as no untoward incident was reported from any part of the constituency.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has fielded former minister Gobind Singh Longowal while Congress-Sanjha Morcha candidate is political greenhorn Simar Partap Singh Barnala, the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Surjeet Singh Barnala.

Simar Pratap Singh Barnala, his parents Gaganjeet Singh Barnala and Harpreet Kaur Barnala, and daughter Sahib cast their vote at Kakkarwal village, near Dhuri, while SAD candidate Gobind Singh Longowal and SAD (A) candidate Surjit Singh Kalabula’s exercised their franchise at their native villages — Longowal and Kalabula — which are out of Dhuri constituency.

Simar has alleged that many SAD leaders remained in the constituency and influenced voters with cash and other items. However, the returning officer-cum-SDM said he had not received any such complaint in writing.

Aam Aadmi Party is staying away from Dhuri by-poll despite AAP MP Bhagwant Singh Mann garnering sizable votes from this assembly constituency, part of Sangrur Parliamentary seat during last Lok Sabha polls.

The constituency has 1.51 lakh registered voters with 12 candidates in the fray. The by-poll was necessitated after Congress MLA Arvind Khanna resigned from the seat in January this year.

Opposition Congress has described the by-poll as "beginning of the end of SAD-BJP combine", while the ruling party SAD is aiming absolute majority in the 117-member Assembly with the election.

At present, SAD has 58 MLAs in the 117-seat Punjab Vidhan Sabha. — With PTI inputs