Congress leader Sunil Jakhar won with a sweeping lead of 1.93 lakh votes the Gurdaspur Constituency bypoll on Sunday, 15 October. Down south, Congress-led UDF leader KNA Khader won the Vengara by-election in Kerala with a lead of 23,310 votes.
Counting of votes in the high-stakes Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll took place on Sunday morning, the voting of which was held on 11 October. The bypoll is being viewed as a barometer of the popularity of the six-month-old Congress government in Punjab.
The Gurdaspur seat fell vacant following the demise of actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna in April this year.
Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab Minister of Tourism, claimed that the victory was a “Diwali gift for Sonia, Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi, and Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.”
Jakhar said the victory reaffirms people’s faith in the Congress. Talking about Akali Dal, he said that the party would have to reform itself otherwise it would disintegrate under Sukhbir Singh Badal’s leadership.
Today, the BJP may not worry but will introspect on the fact that their alliance partner Akali Dal is currently their biggest burden. They are the albatross around BJP’s neck.Navjot Singh Sidhu, Minister of Tourism
CM Amarinder Singh hailed the win and said it was "total rejection of the anti-people policies" of the BJP and its ally, the SAD. “It also underlines the political annihilation of the AAP,” he added.
Jakhar said that after winning the seat, he would start working on border and farmer issues.
We will ensure the deaf and dumb Central government listens to the issues of Punjab’s border areas. We will raise our voice for farmers, not just in Punjab but for farmers across the nation whose lives have become hell thanks to the Central government.Sunil Jakhar, Congress Leader
Also read: LIVE Gurdaspur Bypoll: Congress’ Sunil Jakhar Wins With a Huge Margin
Video Editor: Vivek Gupta
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