The Congress was a worthy second in 2012, winning 46 seats in the 117-member Punjab assembly. In the 2017 elections, at 12 pm, it was leading in 75 seats and was poised to return to power. Overall, the Congress did a reasonable job in not only regaining its 2012 seats, but managing to add some more. Here are three pockets in the electoral map of Punjab where it notched up significant gains over 2012.
Rural seats (30/41)
Of the 117 assembly constituencies in Punjab, there are 41 that had a rural population above 83%. The Congress was leading in 30 of these. This is more than twice the number of seats it bagged in 2012 from this set. The big loser was the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), whose count in these seats dropped from 25 in 2012 to 6 in 2017.
Poor amenities seats (27/38)
There are 38 assembly constituencies where fewer than 26% households receive drinking water in their homes. In these, the Congress was leading in 27, against 13 in 2012. Similarly, in the 37 constituencies where fewer than 74% of households had a toilet in their home, the Congress led in 26, against 10 in 2012.
High female-literacy seats (29/41)
Of the 41 assembly constituencies where the female literacy was above 76%, the Congress was leading in 29, against 16 in 2012. The big loser was the BJP-SAD combine, which saw its count plummet from 22 in 2012 to 7 in 2017.
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