Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll result LIVE: Congress' Sunil Jakhar leads, says verdict against PM Modi's policies

Counting process for the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll seat is underway.

IndiaToday.in  | Posted by Sonalee Borgohain
Gurdaspur, October 15, 2017 | UPDATED 12:37 IST
Congress candidate Sunil JakharCongress candidate Sunil Jakhar

The counting process for the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll seat, which is witnessing a three-cornered race among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is underway.

Two counting centres have been set up for the counting of votes. The counting began at 8 am.

Meanwhile, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate KNA Khader won the Vengara by-election today, with a hefty margin of over 23,000 votes.

IUML chief PK Kunhalikutty who vacated the Vengara seat and later won the Malappuram Lok Sabha seat earlier this year said the CPI-M used all its might, but we knew what was going to be the outcome.

Kunhalikutty won this seat in the 2016 assembly polls with a margin of over 38,000 vote.

HERE ARE THE LIVE UPDATES:

  • Congress leads by 1,82,160 after round 13. The grand old party gets 4,56,250 votes, BJP 2,74,090 and AAP with 21,509 votes.

Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar with party leaders.

 

  • Congress' Jakhar now leading by 1,82,000 votes after round 13 of counting.
  • Congress leading by 1,70,488 votes after 11th round.
  • Congress candidate leading by 1,69,640 votes.
  • Congress' Jakhar leading by 1,43,538 votes.
  • People of Gurdaspur have sent a strong message of their resentment to policies pursued by Modi ji-led Centre: Sunil Jakhar
  • Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar leading by 1,34,000 votes.
  • Congress candidate leading by 1 lakh votes.
  • Congress leading by 56,643 votes.
  • AAP candidate Major General Suresh Kumar Khajuria (retd) on the third spot.
  • Jakhar leading by over 8,000 votes from his nearest rival Swarn Salaria of BJP in third round of counting.
  • Congress's Sunil Jakhar extends lead, now is ahead by 42,718 votes.

  • Counting underway for Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll (Photo: ANI)

  • After completion of first round of Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll, Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar leads by 14,316 votes.
  • Congress leading, BJP second and AAP third. Counting underway
  • Counting of votes has begun.

The Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat has nine Assembly segments - Bhoa, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Dinanagar, Qadian, Fathegarh Churian, Dera Baba Nanak, Sujanpur and Batala.

For six assembly constituencies of Gurdaspur district, counting centre has been set up at Sukhjindra College Gurdaspur and for three assembly constituencies of Pathankot district, counting centre has been set up at the SD College in Pathankot.

Tight security arrangements have been made at the counting centres, an official said.

The bypoll is seen as a barometer for the popularity of the six-month-old Congress government in Punjab.

Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar had earlier claimed the bypoll would be a "referendum" on the Modi government. The BJP had also tried pulling out all the stops to retain the seat, which Khanna had won four times on its ticket.

A victory would give much-needed boost to the BJP, which had bagged just one segment of Sujanpur out of the four seats it had contested in the assembly polls.

The AAP, the main opposition party in Punjab with 20 seats in the House, is also looking to strengthen its presence in the state with victory in the bypoll.

The seat had fallen vacant following the demise of actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna of the BJP in April.

The result will decide the fate of total 11 candidates including Congress nominee Sunil Jakhar, BJP's Swaran Salaria and AAP's Major General (retd) Suresh Khajuria.

The high-stakes Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll recorded a 56 per cent voter turnout on October 11, lower than 70.03 per cent recorded in the 2014 general elections.

Out of nine assembly segments falling in Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat, Dera Baba Nanak Vidhan Sabha constituency had registered maximum voting percentage at 65 per cent while the Batala Vidhan Sabha constituency had witnessed the lowest voting percentage at 50 per cent, an official said.

The polling percentage in the nine assembly segments was also lower than what was recorded in 2017 Assembly elections.

Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat has been a stronghold of the BJP. Actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna had remained four-time MP from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat. Khanna had died of cancer at a hospital in Mumbai on April 27.