Amarinder accepts defeat in Assembly polls, congratulates AAP on victory

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Former chief minister and Punjab Lok Congress president Amarinder Singh on Thursday accepted his defeat and congratulated the Aam Aadmi Party for the victory in the state Assembly polls.

Amarinder Singh, 79, was defeated by Aam Aadmi Party candidate Ajit Pal Singh Kohli from Patiala (Urban) by a margin of 19,873 votes, according to the poll results declared on Thursday.

Amarinder Singh had floated his party after quitting the Congress last year owing to his unceremonious exit as the CM.

He had formed the Punjab Lok Congress, which had contested the state Assembly polls in alliance with the BJP and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led SAD (Sanyukt).

The former CM congratulated the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its CM face Bhagwant Singh Mann "for an emphatic victory in the elections".

He in a statement said while winning and losing is the natural outcome of elections, at the end it was a victory of democracy in Punjab.

The Aam Aadmi Party appeared set for a clean sweep, having taken lead in 81 of the 117 Assembly seats, the latest poll trends showed. The party has so far won 11 seats.

The former CM also congratulated Punjabis for rising above caste, sectarian and communal considerations.

The Punjabis have shown the true spirit of Punjabiyat and shown the way to the country, he remarked.

The former CM said people "rejected the communal and divisive politics of the Congress party".

Expressing his heartiest congratulations to AAP state unit chief and party's chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann, Amarinder Singh said the focus of the new government should be to protect Punjab's future.