Jalandhar LS bypoll: AAP's Sushil Rinku inches towards victory

AAP candidate Sushil Rinku is inching towards victory in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll with a margin of more than 48,000 votes over his nearest rival and Congress nominee Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, according to the latest trends.

Out of 8.87 lakh votes polled, counting of more than 7.10 lakh votes has been completed so far, the trends on the Election Commission website showed.

Aam Aadmi Party supporters were already in celebratory mood in Jalandhar as they were confident of victory of their candidate Rinku.

Rinku has so far polled 2,43,285 votes, while Chaudhary has secured 1,94,805 votes.

BJP nominee Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal was at the third spot, while Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, who is also backed by the Mayawati-led BSP, was at the fourth third spot, the trends showed.

Atwal so far polled 1,20,913 votes and Sukhi 1,13,534 votes.

The bypoll, voting for which was held on May 10, was necessitated following the death of Karamjit Kaur's husband and Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in January.

Nineteen candidates contested the bypoll, which recorded a voter turnout of 54.70 per cent. The turnout was well below the 63.04 per cent recorded in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The ruling AAP is hoping to mark its presence in the Lok Sabha by registering a victory in the bypoll. A win will be a boost for the party, which had faced a drubbing in the Lok Sabha bypoll in Sangrur, just three months after it stormed to power in March 2022.

The bypoll is also being seen as a test of the Bhagwant Mann-led government, which has been promoting its schemes to provide free electricity and jobs to the youths, and regularise services of contractual employees and open mohalla clinics among others.

The Congress is looking to retain Jalandhar -- considered to be a traditional stronghold for the party -- where it has remained undefeated seat since 1999.

The stakes are also high for the BJP and the SAD. The two parties were allies in Punjab before the SAD broke off ties over the now-repealed farm laws in 2020.