Punjab: Polling to Shahkot bypoll tomorrow

CHANDIGARH: Polling for the Shahkot assembly bypoll, for which the three main political parties-Congress, Akali Dal and AAP have went all out, will happen on Monday.
The Shahkot bypoll used to be necessitated following the demise of Akali MLA Ajit Singh Kohar in February this year.

Ruling birthday celebration Congress has fielded Hardev Singh Laddi whilst Akali Dal has given price ticket to Kohar's son Naib Singh Kohar.

Aam Aadmi Party has nominated Rattan Singh Kakkar Kalan for the bypoll.

As many as 1,72,676 citizens will make a decision the destiny of 12 applicants who are in the fray.

The Election Commission has deployed a complete of 1,022 body of workers of safety forces together with six firms of the Border Security Force in Shahkot.

"All the necessary arrangements have been made to hold free and fair Shahkot bypoll," an reliable spokesperson of the election administrative center mentioned on Sunday.

The balloting will start at 7am and can go on till 6pm. Holiday has been declared for the electors of Shahkot assembly constituency on May 28.

The counting of votes will happen on May 31.

There are total 236 polling stations in the constituency, out of which, webcasting shall be held at 103 stations. The election administrative center has recognized 136 places susceptible.

The Electronic Voting Machines and voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) shall be deployed at all the polling stations whilst 15% further EVMs and VVPAT had been stored as reserve if some malfunctioning is developed right through polling, reliable mentioned.

With the ruling birthday celebration Congress eyeing to care for successful momentum on the development schedule, opposition birthday celebration Akali Dal is striving to retain its pocket borough from the place Ajit Singh Kohar had remained five-time MLA.

The major opposition birthday celebration Aam Aadmi Party which confronted humiliating defeat right through Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll and civic polls is desperately on the lookout for the victory.

Congress candidate Laddi got here beneath critical assault with opposition parties accusing him of being considering unlawful sand mining.

The birthday celebration had to even face embarrassment when an FIR used to be lodged by means of the then Mehatpur SHO against Laddi in unlawful mining case, despite the fact that Congress accused SHO of acting on the behest of SAD and AAP.

However, the SHO used to be changed by means of the Election Commission over lawsuits of bias and violation of the code of behavior in filing of an FIR against Hardev Singh Laddi.

With SAD chief Sukhbir Badal taking the rate of the ballot campaign for Akali candidate, the opposition birthday celebration managed to deliver three leaders of AAP and certainly one of Congress into its birthday celebration fold.

AAP leaders C D Singh Kamboj, H S Walia and Hans Raj Rana shifted to Akali Dal whilst senior Congress chief and previous home minister Brij Bhupinder Singh Lalli joined Akali Dal.

During campaigning, Akali stored its assault on the ruling Congress on the issues like unlawful sand mining, molasses leakage incident, alleged removing of Sikh historical past from Class 12 and "reneging" on polls guarantees.

Congress on the other hand charged previous Akali-BJP regime with "ruining" the state and "total lack of development" in the Shahkot Assembly constituency which used to be held by means of Akali MLA.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh even lashed out on the Akalis for deceptive other people on farm debt waiver issue and leaving the state in fiscal crisis.