Welcome to The Hindu's Live Coverage of the Punjab Assembly elections results.
PTI reports that the Opposition Congress has won 76 seats in the 117-member Assembly; Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has won 20 seats, the SAD 15 seats and the BJP three, as per trends.
Congress today made a resounding comeback in Punjab after a gap of a decade, getting an absolute majority in the Assembly. With the ruling party facing a humiliating defeat, Chief Minister and Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal said he would be submitting his resignation to the Governor tomorrow.
Here are the live updates:
6.10 p.m.: The results of Punjab Assembly polls which saw a resurgent Congress returning to power after a gap of 10 years on Saturday witnessed the youngest and oldest contenders in the elections romp home to victory.
5.15 p.m.: Congress senior leader Sunil Kumar Jakhar, son of late Balram Jakhar, loses to political greenhorn Arun Narnag of BJP from his pocket borough seat of Abohar.
5.00 p.m.: Here is the party-wise vote share:
INC - 38.4%
SAD - 25.3%
AAP - 23.8%
BJP - 5.3%
4.50 p.m.: " I thank everyone in Punjab for their immense faith and support. This is a mandate for a brighter future for Punjab and it's youth. My heartiest congratulations to Capt Amarinder Singhji & all our party workers who worked tirelessly," tweeted Rahul Gandhi.
4.30 p.m.: Congress candidate Manpreet Singh Badal wins from Bathinda Urban seat, deafeating AAP candidate Deepak Bansal by 18,480 votes.
4.15 p.m.: From Dirba, AAP candidate Harpal Cheema defeats Congress candidate Ajaib Singh by 1,645 votes and from Garhshankar, AAP candidate won by 1,650 votes by trouncing SAD candidate Surinder Singh.
4.10 p.m.: I thank people of Punjab for giving S AD and BJP the opportunity to serve for 10 years & for the support we got in these polls. Am overjoyed that BJP has received unprecedented support from all sections of society. Huge support from the youth is gladdening, tweets Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
4.00p.m.: Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal says "We honour the mandate given by Punjabis today and will extend support to the new government for all endeavours taken for the welfare of the State".
3.50 p.m.: "No rethink on alliance with Akali Dal in Punjab, but we will review why we lost," says Amit Shah at a press conference after the BJP's sweeping victory in Uttar Pradesh.
3.30 p.m.: Congress gets majority in 117-member Punjab Assembly, wins over 59 seats, after a gap of a decade.
3.25 p.m.: Akali candidate Bikram Singh Majithia won from the Majitha seat by defeating his nearest rival, Congress candidate Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lally, by 22,884 votes.
3.10 pm: H.S. Phoolka, noted Supreme Court lawyer, of AAP wins from Dakha constituency with 58923 votes.
3:00 p.m.: Navjot Singh Sidhu wins from Amritsar East by a margin of 42,809 votes. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal wins from Jalalabad by a margin of 18,500 votes.
Congress candidate and former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh retains his Jalandhar Cantt seat by defeating Akali candidate Sarabjit Singh Makkar by 29,124 votes.
2.45 p.m.: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Congress leader Amarinder Singh to congratulate him on the electoral victory in Punjab. “Spoke to @capt_amarinder & congratulated him on the win in Punjab,” Modi tweeted.
2.40 p.m.: Rupinder Kaur Ruby of AAP wins over Amit Ratan of SAD. Rupinder secured 51572 votes.
2.30 p.m.: Congress candidate Kanwarpal Singh won Anandpur Sahib seat by defeating his nearest rival BJP’s Parminder Sharma with a margin of 23,881 votes. The seat was earlier held by cabinet minister Madan Mohan Mittal of the BJP.
1.30 p.m.: We accept people's mandate. All volunteers worked hard. Our struggle will continue, said Arvind Kejriwal on the AAP's performance. “We are disappointed with the results. We will introspect on the reasons behind the [poor] performance,” senior AAP leader Ashutosh said. AAP leader and Delhi minister Kapil Mishra said the party did not expect such results in Punjab and Goa.
“This was not expected and it its the time to review,” Mishra said.
1.10 p.m.: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to resign tomorrow. Badal congratulates Amarinder Singh, extends support to him. SAD will discuss reasons for defeat in the Punjab Assembly elections, says Mr. Badal
12.30 p.m.: Congress candidate Kanwarpal Singh wins Anandpur Sahib seat by defeating his nearest BJP rival Parminder Sharma with a margin of 23,881 votes. The seat was earlier held by cabinet minister Madan Mohan Mittal of BJP.
12.25 p.m.: Captain Amarinder Singh who is leading in Patiala but trailing in Lambi offers congratulations to all Congress party workers. "Congress Legislative Party meeting will be held at 2 pm tomorrow," he says. "We will get two-thirds majority I hope. I had earlier said that the voters of Punjab are very reasonable, they would vote judiciously, not to the AAP. I thank people of Punjab. Kejriwal is a summer storm, he has come and gone."
Capt.Amarinder Singh says people of Punjab have voted for development.."AAP was nothing more than a fair weather storm, which is now over". We will act against drug menace with four weeks after we form the government".
12.15 p.m.: This is the revival of the Congress. It will take strength from this beginning in Punjab and spread. Punjab results a defeat of Akali Dal’s arrogance, says Navjot Singh Sidhu.
12.05 p.m.: Congress' Kanwar Pal Singh wins from Anandpur Sahib with a vote margin of 23,881 against BJP's Parminder Sharma. Sushil Kumar Rinku (Congress) wins from Jalandhar West.
11.30 a.m.: The first result from Punjab has been declared. Pravin Zantye from the BJP wins from the Maem constituency with a margin of 4974 votes, against Santosh Kumar Sawant of the Congress.
11.20 a.m.: The Congress’s Gurjit Singh Aujla is leading by 21,881 votes in the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency. Bypolls in Punjab were held with the Assembly polls.
11.10 a.m.: The Election Commission has come up with trends for all 117 constituencies in the state. Here is the break-up: Congress - 71; SAD - 18; BJP - 3; AAP - 22; Others- 3.
10.20 a.m.: The Congress is leading in 62 seats in Punjab. With this, the INC has officially crossed the half-way mark in the State. The AAP and SAD is on a head-to-head race leading in 22 constituencies each.
Among the key seats in which Congress is leading include:
Amritsar Central, Tarn Taran, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar West (R), Chabbewal (R), Anandpur Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib, Dharamkot, Baluana (Reserve), Gidderbaha, Faridkot, Rajpura and Patiala seats.
10.10 a.m.: Sukhbir Singh Badal gains lead over nearest rival Ravneet Singh Bittu of Congress by a margin of 2,144 votes from Jalalabad. Sukhbir Singh Badal is the Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president.
Here is the vote share:
INC - 37.3%
AAP - 24.1%
SAD - 24.4%
BJP - 7.4%
10.00 a.m.: Parkash Singh Badal leading in Lambi constituency by nearly 3000 votes over Amarinder Singh of INC. Mr. Singh, however, is leading by 9000 votes over AAP candidate in Patiala. Congress's Navjot Singh Sidhu leading from Amritsar East.
9.55 a.m.: Here is another ECI updates party-wise: Congress leading in 57 seats while the SAD-BJP combine is leading in 27(22+5). AAP, which was seen a key contender, is leading in 24 constituencies.
9:40 a.m.: Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday is trailing from the Jalalabad assembly seat.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Bhagwant Mann was leading, officials said. The other candidate in the race is Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu.
Parkash Singh Badal is ahead of his nearest rival Amarinder Singh by a margin of 1,245 votes in Lambi.
In Bhadaur (Reserve), AAP’s Pirmal Singh Tohra has taken an early lead
9.31 a.m.: Congress is leading in 43 seats; SAD-BJP combine in 27 seats while AAP is leading in 22 constituencies.
9.30 a.m.: Congress is maintaining its leads in 32 seats followed by AAP in 18. SAD is leading in 16 while BJP in 2, according to the Punjab Chief Electoral Office. The Election Commission has declared leading trends for 57 of the 117 constituencies.
9.25 a.m.: Congress seems to be leading in 28 seats, according to Punjab chief electoral office. The AAP is leading in 16 constituencies while SAD is leading in 15. It is to be noted that the entry of AAP into the state's politics has changed the state's political situation. In the 2014 parliamentary elections, the AAP won 4 out of 13 seats in Punjab, establishing itself as the third force in the State politics.
9.20 a.m.: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is leading in Lambi assembly constituency, as per early trends. The 89-year-old is locked in a triangular contest with Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh and journalist-turned-politician Jarnail Singh of the AAP in his pocket borough of Lambi.
9:15 a.m.: More leads on the way - Congress - 18; AAP - 07; BJP - 1, SAD-7, according to Chief Electoral Office, Punjab
9:00 a.m.: Capt. Amarinder Singh of Congress leading by 3500 votes from Patiala seat. Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu leading from Amritsar East seat. A little background info on the cricketer-turned-politician Sidhu: After hectic negotiations, Mr. Sidhu joined the Congress party and called it his 'homecoming.' Mr. Sidhu was previously a BJP MP. He had recently launched a new political party, Awaz-e-Punjab, and asked the like-minded people who want to work for Punjab’s interest to come together to defeat the forces which have ruined Punjab.
8:45 a.m.: And the first official numbers are trickling in! After the first round of counting, AAP is leading in one constituency while the Shiromani Akali Dal is also leading in one constituency.
8. 15 a.m.: Parkash Singh Badal leading from Lambi. Capt Amarinder Singh second and AAP's Jarnail Singh third, as first leads emerge in Punjab. - ANI
7.45 a.m.: Counting begins. Votes will be counted at 54 centers in 27 locations in Punjab , which has a 117-member Assembly. Exit polls forecast a close fight in Punjab between the Congress, which is seeking to return to power after a hiatus of 10 years, and Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP. The Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine could be in for a drubbing in the State.
The scene outside the Aam Aadmi Party headquarters in Delhi.
7.15 a.m.: About 15% of the candidates for the coming polls in Punjab have criminal cases registered against them, according to an analysis by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
A closer look at numbers suggests that there are 77 candidates accused of serious crimes — ranging from electoral offences to those against women and those under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Among the 77, four candidates have murder cases against them, 11 face cases related to attempt to murder.
6.30 a.m.: Political analysts believe the equations changed with the entry of the AAP, which was able to set the electoral agenda and emerged as a key challenger to the ruling SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress.
6.00 a.m.: Punjab politics have traditionally been dominated by the two political parties, the ruling Akali-BJP combine and the Congress. However, in the 2014 parliamentary elections, the AAP won 4 out of 13 seats in Punjab, establishing itself as the third force in the State politics.
(With inputs from Agencies)
