LS polls: 65.96% voting in Punjab, 70.62% in Chandigarh

Punjab recorded a voter turnout of 65.96 per cent for the 13 Lok Sabha seats, almost five per cent lower than the 2014 Lok Sabha polling.

Of the total 2.07 crore electors, 1.37 crore sealed the fate of 278 candidates in the state on Sunday.

The lone Chandigarh seat recorded a voter turnout of 70.62 per cent as against 73.71 per cent in the 2014 general elections.

After compiling data on the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, the poll percentage marginally increased to 65.96 as against 65.77 reported Sunday evening, officials said here on Monday.

The poll percentage of Chandigarh's lone seat was recorded at 70.62, they said.

As per figures which were available Sunday evening, the voter turnout in the UT was 63.57 per cent.

In Punjab, among the total voters who exercised their franchise, 72.55 lakh were male and 64.51 lakh female. As many as 149 thirdgenders also cast their vote, as per figures made available by the election office.

Among the 13 parliamentary constituencies, Bathinda, from where SAD nominee and two-time MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, is seeking re-election, recorded the highest polling percentage of 74.10.

Among the nine assembly segments in the Bathinda parliamentary constituency, Budhlada and Sardulgarh witnessed the higher polling percentage of 78.80 and 77.50 respectively.

Amritsar, from where BJP candidate Hardeep Puri fought his maiden electoral battle, recorded the lowest polling percentage at 57.08. In this parliamentary segment, Attari, Amritsar South, Amritsar West and Amritsar East recorded the low voter turnout, as per polling figures.

The Gurdapur Lok Sabha seat witnessed a polling percentage of 69.51, followed by 64.01 in Khadoor Sahib, 63.04 in Jalandhar, 62.15 in Hoshiarpur, 63.76 in Anandpur Sahib, 62.16 in Ludhiana, 65.68 in Fatehgarh Sahib, 63.22 in Faridkot, 72.30 in Ferozepur, 72.44 in Sangrur and 67.77 in Patiala.

Barring stray incidents of clashes, polling in Punjab on Sunday had remained peaceful.

Prominent candidates in the fray include SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Bollywood actor Sunny Deol and two union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Puri and Congress heavyweights Manish Tewari and Preneet Kaur.

On the lone Chandigarh seat, BJP's Kirron Kher, Congress' Pawan Kumar Bansal and AAP's Harmohan Dhawan are in the fray.