There could not have been a better birthday gift for Capt. Amarinder Singh as the Congress bounced back to win Punjab with a tally of 77 seats out of 117. The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janta Party combine faced a humiliating defeat as it was restricted to 18 seats.
The Aam Aadmi Party, which was eyeing to wrest power, was unable to impress the voters and could garner only 20 seats. AAP's alliance partner, the Lok Insaf Party won two seats.
As the SAD faced one of its worst electoral defeats, winning only 15 seats, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal accepted the defeat and said he would submit his resignation to the Governor on Sunday. Alliance partner BJP was able to register a win on only three seats.
With the Congress returning to power after a decade with a clear majority, Capt. Amainder Singh, the party's chief ministerial candidate, said: “The people of Punjab have voted out Akalis as they want development. It's time to bring back the heyday of Punjab.”
Capt. Amarinder, who turned 75 on Saturday, announced that he would be meeting Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi soon to submit his recommendations on cabinet formation. He said his government would take more than 100 critical decisions, with no financial implications, at its first cabinet meeting.
Capt. Amarinder won the Patiala seat with highest margin of 52,407 votes as he defeated his nearest rival Balbir Singh of the AAP. Akali Dal candidate and former Army chief J.J Singh secured 11,677 votes to finish third. In Lambi, however, 89-year-old Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal — the oldest winning candidate — defeated Capt. Amarinder by 22,770 votes.
Mr. Davinder Singh Ghubaya of the Congress, who won from Fazilka, is the youngest candidate at 25 to enter the Vidhan Sabha.
Published - March 12, 2017 12:59 am IST
