The counting of votes in the State Assembly elections started at 8 am on March 10, 2022, and has been a stressful situation among the parties and candidates. A total of 1,304 candidates including 93 women and two transgenders lined up for the election.
The first round of counting in Punjab has seen Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann overtake Indian National Congress (INC), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and others in the State Assembly Elections of 2022 by 14 votes.
The state recorded a voter turnout of 71.95 percent which is the lowest percentage as compared to the voting percentage observed in three previous assembly elections.
The incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is trailing in both his seats. While prominent leaders like Navjot Singh Sidhu and Amarinder Singh who won the 2017 assembly elections for Congress by a massive margin are now trailing in their constituencies to AAP candidates, after 3 rounds of the poll.
AAP has been able to win people’s trust with their poll campaign titled “badlav” (change). AAP is progressing the poll with an assurance of change, bringing in the Arvind Kejriwal model of governance, empowering youth and women, putting forth a promising face of Bhagwant Mann as the chief minister and the farm agitation.
These commitments are ought to end the seven-decade-long rule of the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal. Sighting the early flow of votes falling into AAP’s sack, its workers have already started celebrating with dhol outside Mann’s residence as well as the party headquarters in the state. In addition to this, Mann is to address the AAP workers at his place at 12 pm today.
Published by – Kiruthiga K
Edited by – Khushi Thakur
