SAD canditate Brahmpura wins Khadoor Sahib bypoll

Ruling SAD today won the bypoll to Khadoor Sahib Assembly seat, with party candidate Ravinder Singh Brahmpura defeating his nearest rival Independent candidate Bhupinder Singh by a margin of 65,664 votes.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate Ravinder Singh Brahmpura won the bypoll to Khadoor Sahib Assembly seat on Tuesday by a margin of 65,664 votes.

Brahmpura defeated Bhupinder Singh, who had broken away from the Congress and entered the fray as an Independent.

The bypoll was held as the seat fell vacant after Congress MLA Ramanjit Singh Sikki resigned in protest against sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib last year.

Main opposition parties Congress and Aam Aadmi Party had stayed out of the contest, with the former "boycotting" the polls, saying the issue on which Sikki had resigned was still unresolved.

Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer V K Singh said that at the end of 15 rounds of counting, Brahmpura had polled 83,080 votes as against 17,416 in favour of Bhupinder.

"Ravinder Brahmpura has won by 65664 votes," he said.

Another Independent candidate Sumel Singh Sidhu could only poll 2,243 votes. He had parted ways with AAP to contest the poll.