A major blow hit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab as Avinash Jolly, the former Deputy Mayor of Amritsar, tendered his resignation from the party. On Tuesday, amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Jolly made a significant move by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Amritsar.
Narinder Singh, the BJP National Secretary, took to X to announce the development, stating, "Avinash Jolly, former deputy mayor (Amritsar), along with hundreds of supporters, joined BJP at Amritsar, Punjab."
The electoral landscape in Punjab gears up for voting across its 13 seats in a single phase. The final phase, scheduled for June 1, will witness polling in Gurudaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nandpur Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Firozpur, Bathinda, Sangrur, and Patiala constituencies.
Meanwhile, the nomination process for the Lok Sabha elections commenced in Punjab on May 7. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has deployed general and police observers for the 13 seats in Punjab to ensure the conduct of peaceful, fair, and transparent elections. These officials are slated to assume their duties starting May 14, as per a press release from the Punjab Information and Public Relations Department.
Sibin C, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Punjab, disclosed that 13 IAS officers from various states have been designated as general observers, while seven IPS officers will serve as police observers. Their primary responsibility lies in ensuring strict adherence to the guidelines and directives laid down by the ECI, particularly concerning the Model Code of Conduct.
Despite being allies in the opposition INDIA bloc, both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress have opted not to forge any seat-sharing arrangement in the state.
In the previous Lok Sabha Elections of 2019, the INC-led UPA alliance clinched eight seats with a vote share of 40.6 percent, while the NDA managed to secure four seats with a voting percentage of 9.7. The AAP, marking its electoral debut, secured one seat.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and AAP secured four seats each, whereas the Congress bagged three seats. The BJP managed to secure only two seats.
The third phase of the general elections concluded with polling for 93 Lok Sabha seats across 12 states and union territories on Tuesday.
The eagerly awaited counting of votes is scheduled for June 4
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