Akali Dal candidate leads in Punjab by-poll

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal candidate was leading by over 54,000 votes after 13 rounds of counting in the Khadoor Sahib assembly by-election in Punjab on Tuesday, election officials said here.

Akali Dal candidate Ravinder Singh Brahmpura was way ahead of his nearest rival in the counting of votes which began at 8 a.m.

Brahmpura as leading by over 54,000 votes.

As many as 58 percent of the over 1.87 lakh electorate had cast their votes in the by-poll.

The polls were held on February 13 amidst a boycott of the election by Congress and AAP, making it a one-sided contest for the Akali Dal.

The seat fell vacant after sitting Congress legislator Ramanjit Singh Sikki resigned in October 2015 over last year's incidents of sacrilege of Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, in Punjab and the state government failing to contain such incidents.

The candidate winning the Khadoor Sahib seat in the by-election will remain a legislator for only about one year as assembly elections to 117 seats in Punjab will be held in February 2017.