In a blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, former Amritsar Deputy Mayor Avinash Jolly officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after tendering his resignation from the party.
“Avinash Jolly, former deputy mayor (Amritsar) along with hundreds of supporters joined BJP at Amritsar, Punjab,” said BJP national secretary Narinder Singh in a post on X.
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All 13 seats in Punjab will go to voting in a single phase during the seventh and final phase, set for June 1. The seventh phase will witness voting in constituencies including Gurudaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nandpur Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Firozpur, Bathinda, Sangrur, and Patiala.
The filing of nominations for the Lok Sabha elections kicked off in Punjab on May 7. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has deployed general and police observers for 13 seats in Punjab to ensure that the electoral process unfolds peacefully, fairly, and with transparency.
These officials will assume their responsibilities from May 14, a press release from the Punjab Information and Public Relations Department said.
Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer, Sibin C, mentioned that 13 IAS officers from different states will act as general observers, and seven IPS officers will serve as police observers. Their role is to make sure everyone follows the rules during elections, like the Model Code of Conduct. AAP and the Congress, despite being partners in the opposition INDIA bloc, have opted not to form any seat-sharing agreement in Punjab.
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During the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the INC-led UPA alliance secured eight seats with a vote share of 40.6 per cent, while the NDA managed to secure four seats with a voting percentage of 9.7 per cent . The AAP, making its debut, secured one seat.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and AAP each won 4 seats, while Congress secured 3 seats. The BJP managed to secure only two seats.
The third phase of the general election concluded with polling for 93 Lok Sabha seats across 12 states and union territories.Vote counting is scheduled for June 4.
