Celebrations erupt as Congress candidate wins

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, June 4

Subdued atmosphere outside the counting centre on the Kapurthala Road transformed into joy after the fifth round of counting around 10:30 am when Congress candidate Charanjit Singh Channi secured a significant lead.

Visits Gurdwara, temple & Dera

Advertisement

Charanjit Singh Channi paid obeisance at Devi Talab Mandir, Gurdwara Sahib and Ravidass Dham. Channi also exchanged pleasantries with party leaders and thanked them for their support. Channi also paid respects at Bishop House and Valmik Dera at Maqsudan. His last halt of the day was at Dera Sachkhand Ballan where he presented packets of sweets to its chief Sant Niranjan Dass.

After eighth round, Channi was leading by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes. Congress supporters soon started waving party flags and chanting “sada MP Channi sahab”. Celebrations erupted outside the counting centre as party workers and supporters danced to dhol beats and sang traditional ‘boliyan’.

After receiving the winning certificate from the Deputy Commissioner in the afternoon, Channi reached the centre. He climbed atop a building adjacent to the centre’s gate to wave to the crowd. He also expressed gratitude to people for their overwhelming support and mandate.

He said due to the Operation Bluestar anniversary, no grand celebration would be held and the roadshow would proceed without dhol beats. Channi later held a roadshow in an open XUV from the counting centre on the Kapurthala Road to Football Chowk, Jyoti Chowk and other areas.