Jalandhar: BJP vote share up 4%, but its candidate Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal loses deposit
Vishav Bharti
Chandigarh, May 13
Despite figuring at the fourth position, the BJP has increased its vote share by 4 per cent in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha byelection as compared to the last Assembly elections in segments falling under this parliamentary seat.
The saffron party had been an ally of the Akali Dal for almost two and a half decades. Party candidate Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal polled 1,34,800 votes, accounting for 15.19 per cent of the total votes. The party, however, could not save its security deposit. Any candidate who secures less than one-sixth (16.7 per cent) of the total valid votes loses his or her security deposit.
BJP state president Ashwani Sharma attributed the increase in the vote share of the party to the “hard work of BJP workers”.
The saffron party performed well in all four urban Assembly segments of the Lok Sabha seat. However, its performance in the five rural segments was weak. The party led in two Assembly constituencies — Jalandhar Central where it got 25,259 votes and Jalandhar North where it polled 31,549 votes. Among the rural Assembly constituencies, in Phillaur, it got just 5,847 votes, in Shahkot, it polled 7,119 votes, in Kartarpur, it bagged 8,354 votes and in Adampur, it secured 6,564 votes. In the Nakodar Assembly constituency, which is also a rural constituency, its performance was slightly better as it polled 10,407 votes.
Saffron party Bags 15.19% votes
Party candidate Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal polled 1,34,800 votes, accounting for 15.19 per cent of the total votes. Atwal, however, could not save his security deposit.
