In Punjab, as many as 1,304 candidates are in the electoral fray for the 117 Assembly constituencies in the upcoming Assembly elections, which are slated for February 20.
Patiala (rural) and Sahnewal constituencies will see the electoral battle between the highest number of candidates with 19 candidates each in the fray in these Assembly segments. The least number of five candidates are in the fray in Dinanagar constituency.
Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer S. Karuna Raju on Saturday said 341 candidates withdrew their nomination papers on the last day (February 4) of withdrawal.
“2,266 candidates had filed their nominations papers for 117 Assembly constituencies of the State. During the scrutiny 1,645 nomination papers were found valid,” he said.
“The highest number of candidates, 19 each, are in the fray from Assembly constituencies - Sahnewal and Patiala (rural). Similarly least the number of 5 candidates are in the fray from Assembly constituency of Dinanagar,” he said.
Mr. Raju said that after the scrutiny, now 1,304 candidates are left in the fray. Punjab will go to vote on February 20.
In the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, Congress registered a resounding victory by winning 77 seats in the 117 member Punjab Legislative Assembly. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 20 seats while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) finished third with only 15 seats to its credit. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won three seats.
