Punjab Assembly Elections 2022

In a major embarrassment for two-time Punjab Chief Minister and Congress rebel Capt Amarinder Singh in a fag-end of his political career, he faced a humiliating defeat from AAP's greenhorn Ajit Pal Kohli with over 13,000 votes on Thursday from his stronghold Patiala (Urban), the seat that he has won for four consecutive terms since 2002 when he first contested.

Aam Aadmi Party's Charanjit Singh is leading from Chamkaur Sahib seat in Punjab by 1,980 votes against state Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in a nerve-racking contest. As per the Election Commission update at 11.30 a.m., CM Channi has so far secured 30,880 votes while AAP candidate Charanjit Singh has till now received 32,860 votes.

In the wake of show of strength displayed by former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on her birthday on March 8 and the controversial statements made by her supporters, Rajasthan BJP in-charge Arun Singh issued a warning to such workers.

 Even as the Aam Aadmi Party is showing a dismal performance in the early trends in two of the three states where it was contesting the Assembly elections, the party leaders in the national capital are rejoicing over the trends in Punjab where it is heading for a comfortable victory.

Prominent faces who were trailing in the first two hours of counting of ballots included five-time former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal from his bastion Lambi; Congress chief ministerial candidate and incumbent Charanjit Singh Channi on both seats -- Chamkaur Sahib, a reserved seat that he has won three consecutive times, and Bhadaur in Barnala district; and Congress state unit chief Navjot Sidhu from Amritsar (East), the seat that came into being after 2012 delimitation and has backed Sidhu and his namesake wife -- Navjot Kaur.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is leading from Chamkaur Sahib seat in early trends of counting that began at 8 a.m. on Thursday. However, he is trailing from another seat, Bhadaur. The counting of votes for the 117-Assembly constituencies of Punjab is underway. The AAP has established a clear lead, leaving Congress in the second position in the poll race in early trends.

The polls for 117 constituencies were held on February 20 and a total 1,54,69,618 voters exercised their right to franchise. The election results can be obtained from the official website of CEO Punjab -- ceopunjab.gov.in or results.eci.gov.in. Also, results can also be obtained from voter helpline mobile application.

Latest Trends: The BJP looks all set to form governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and is ahead of its rivals in Goa and Manipur. In Punjab, AAP has established a massive lead and Bhagwant Mann is all set to take over the reins of power in the state.

With most exit polls predicting a tough fight between the ruling BJP and the Congress in Goa, the coastal state is bracing for yet another spell of hectic political parleys. With the polling authorities in the state saying that the results may be out as early as 11 a.m., the two main political parties are already reaching out to all possible quarters for support, in case they fall short of numbers.

Bookies, who run the satta market, have predicted the people of Punjab may see a new party in power after years, as they give 65 seats to the Aam Aadmi Party in the 117-member Assembly. There are no bids for other parties. The bookies are also predicting that BJP is bagging 34 seats in Uttarakhand, a couple of seats short of a majority in the 70-member house.