Congress wrests Gurdaspur LS seat from BJP-SAD
The Congress on Sunday wrested the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha (LS) seat in Punjab from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)— Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) alliance. Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar defeated the BJP’s candidate by a victory margin of 1,93,219 votes.
The Congress had won the Assembly polls in March to end the 10-year BJP-SAD rule in the state. With the win in Gurdaspur, the Congress tally has now increased to 46 in the LS.
InanAssemblybypollinKerala’sVengara, theIndianUnion Muslim League (IUML) candidate retained the seat. The IUML is a key partner of the Congress-led United Democratic Front, or UDF. The UDF is the main Opposition to the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-ledLeftDemocraticFront.
IUML’s K N A Khader polled 65,227 votes, defeating his nearest rival, CPI(M)’s P P Basheer, by 23,310 votes. The seat is an IUML stronghold. The BJP candidate came in fourth, polling 5,728 votes.
The Gurdaspur LS bypoll result was interpreted as the continued decline of the BJPSAD in Punjab, after it had lost the Assembly election in March this year. The bypoll was necessitated after sitting member Vinod Khanna from the BJP passed away in April this year. With the exception of 2009, Khanna had represented the seat consecutively since 1998. He won in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014.
Congress candidate Jakhar polled 499,752 votes. His BJP rival, Swaran Salaria, polled 306,533. Aam Aadmi Party nominee Suresh Khajuria was at the third spot with 23,579 votes. The bypoll saw a significant decline in AAP’s vote share. Its candidate had received 1,73,376 votes in the 2014 LS that Khanna had won.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the Congress win showed that people of the state have completely denounced the corrupt and immoral BJP and SAD.
“For AAP, this election marks the end of its political ambitions in Punjab,” he said.
With20seats, theAAPisthe main Opposition party in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.