The fate of Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, actor turned politician Sunny Deol, two Union Ministers—Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri—along with 274 other candidates in Punjab will be decided on Sunday, the final phase of seven-phase Lok Sabha polls.
Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm in the 13 parliamentary constituencies in Punjab. Over 2.07 crore eligible voters including 98,29,916 female and 560 transgenders will vote to elect their respective MPs.
In the border state of Punjab, the Lok Sabha election is seen as a mid-term test of popularity for the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government.
The Congress, which had stormed to power in the 2017 assembly polls after ten years, is facing the SAD-BJP combine, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Punjab Democratic Alliance, a coalition of small parties, in the state. The PDA comprises Sukhpal Singh Khaira-led Punjab Ekta Party (PEP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), the Punjab Manch led by suspended AAP MP Dharamvira Gandhi, the CPI and the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI).
All eyes are on two seats — Amritsar and Gurdaspur -- witnessing a clash of personalities. Union Minister and former diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri is the BJP candidate from Amritsar constituency from where Congress has fielded sitting MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla.
Banking on his stardom and roots in Punjab, the Bollywood star Sunny Deol, whose real name is Ajay Singh Deol, is contesting from Gurdaspur constituency where he is facing sitting MP and Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar. Jakhar had won the October 2017 by-election by 1.92 lakh votes in Gurdaspur.
Also, political dynasties continue to dominate the state politics this time.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is the Jalalabad MLA, is the SAD nominee from Ferozepur Lok Sabha constituency, considered a party stronghold. He is pitted against Akali Dal rebel and now Congress candidate Sher Singh Ghubaya.
Union Minister and Sukhbir Badal's wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal is contesting from Bathinda Lok Sabha seat, SAD's bastion, for the third time. She is facing Congress candidate Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, AAP's Baljinder Kaur and Punjab Ekta Party's Sukhpal Singh Khaira in a high-stakes electoral battle.
In Patiala, the Congress has retained three-time MP and former Union Minister Preneet Kaur, 75, for the fifth consecutive time. Preneet Kaur, wife of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, was defeated by AAP's Dharamvira Gandhi, 69, by over 20,000 votes in 2014. This time, Gandhi is in the fray as nominee of the Nawan Punjab Party, a new political outfit.
In Ludhiana, Ravneet Singh Bittu, 43, grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in 1995, is seeking re-election.
Bhagwant Mann, the AAP’s "best bet" in Punjab, is seeking re-election from Sangrur Lok Sabha seat from where he is facing challenge from SAD's Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Congress' Kewal Singh Dhillon.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had emerged a dark horse in Punjab in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, winning four seats and stunning rivals with its performance in the nine other seats. But it's a different story this time as AAP is struggling to save its sinking ship with several leaders either quitting or being suspended in the last four years.
In 2014, the AAP and the SAD had won four seats each, the Congress three and the BJP two.
More than one lakh security personnel including para military force have been deployed in the state for holding free and fair polling on 13 Lok Sabha seats.
Punjab chief electoral officer Dr S Karuna Raju has asked the voters to carry electors photo identity cards (EPIC) to establish their identity at the polling station before casting votes on May 19.
This time, over 3.94 lakh voters in age group of 18-19 are eligible first time electors in Punjab.
A total of 23,213 polling stations have been set up and of which 249, 719 and 509 booths have been categorised as critical, sensitive and hyper sensitive respectively.
He said that a total of 27,703 VVPATs would be installed. First-time voters will be welcomed and given a certificate of appreciation, he added.
