Punjab Results 2022: Counting of votes is set to begin at 8 am today for 117 assembly seats in Punjab, where a sweeping victory is expected for the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), according to multiple exit polls.
All IndiaEdited by NDTV News DeskUpdated: March 10, 2022 8:02 am IST
Punjab Assembly Election Results: Projected winner AAP has encouraged voting for ‘badlav’.
Counting of votes began at 8 am today for 117 assembly seats in Punjab, where a sweeping victory is expected for the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), according to multiple exit polls.
The state, which has over 2.14 crore eligible voters, went to polls on February 20 and recorded a voter turnout of 71.95 per cent — its lowest in comparison to the past three assembly elections in Punjab. There were 1,304 candidates in the fray.
Projected winner AAP — positioning itself as an agent of change — designed its poll campaign this time round to encourage people to vote for “badlav” (change), and targeted the traditional political parties for “looting” the state. These parties are the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress, who have alternatively been forming the government in Punjab ever since 1966.
Congress, currently in power, has insisted that their party will secure victory despite exit polls predicting AAP to be the single largest party in the state, as Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi eyes another term in power.
Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh — who dramatically exited Punjab Congress last year and formed a new party, the Punjab Lok Congress — tied up with the BJP for the elections. Meanwhile, the Akali Dal, or SAD, which split from its longtime partner BJP after the countrywide protests over the farm laws, fought elections in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party.