Amarinder in Patiala, Channi in Chamkaur Sahib, Bhadaur: Key Punjab seats to look out for

This is a litmus test for the Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government and will measure the popularity of AAP, one of its main rival in the polls

Voters in Punjab's 117 Assembly constituencies hit the polling booths on Sunday for the frontier state's Assembly elections with over 17 per cent voter turnout as of 11 am, after weeks of heated campaigning by five major parties in the fray. The polls mean a litmus test for the Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government and will measure the popularity of its main rival in the polls, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party.

Here are some of the key constituencies in the border state that will witness a fierce contest:

Patiala

Considered the home turf of former CM Amarinder Singh, the Patiala Assembly seat has been held by either Singh or his wife for nearly 20 years. Now no longer with the Congress, Amarinder faces a stiff challenge against his former party's Vishnu Sharma and AAP's Ajit Pal Singh Kohli. The Punjab Lok Congress chief won in both 2017 and 2012 with nearly 70 per cent of the votes.

Chamkaur Sahib

CM Charanjit Singh Channi, an incumbent from this constituency, brought it to center-stage in the state after he was made Punjab Chief Minister 111 days ago. Channi’s wife Dr Kamaljit Kaur, who resigned as a government senior medical officer, and his 26-year old daughter-in-law Simran, are campaigning door to door in the constituency seeking votes for the Dalit leader.

He is up against AAP's namesake Charanjit Singh, a local eye surgeon and a philanthropist, who in 2017 lost to Channi. His sudden exponential rise, first as the CM and now the CM face of the party, is changing the way the electorate is looking at the Congress in this segment. His “gareeb aadmi and aam aadmi” claim has both been hailed and ridiculed.

Bhadaur

In addition to Chamkaur Sahib, Channi will also be contesting from Bhadaur. He will be up against AAP's Labh Singh Ugoke – who runs a mobile phone repair shop in a village, and SAD's Satnam Singh – also his opponent in Chamkaur Sahib. Bhadaur is not a safe seat as the Congress has won this seat only twice, most recently in 2012 and it is considered an SAD stronghold. Fielding him in Bhadaur is a tactical move by the party to ensure some gains in electorally vital Malwa which accounts for 69 of the 117 seats in Punjab.

Dhuri

Dhuri is where Aam Aadmi Party's CM face Bhagwant Singh Mann is contesting the February 20 elections. Part of Sangrur district, whose Lok Sabha constituency Mann currently represents, Dhuri could give AAP the edge it needs to defeat the Congress in Punjab. It is a part of the larger Malwa region where AAP won 18 seats out of the total 20 in the 2017 assembly polls. This time, Congress has fielded its sitting legislator Dalvir Singh Goldy from the seat, while the Shiromani Akali Dal's candidate is Parkash Chand Garg.

East Amritsar

Currently held by Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, East Amritsar is likely to see a fierce competition between Sidhu, who won by a margin of 42,000 votes in the previous elections, and Akali Dal's Bikram Singh Majithia, who is an accused in a drugs case. The SAD candidate, who won from Majithia seat in 2017, was fielded in Sidhu's constituency after the former cricketer dared him to contest from Amritsar (East). SAD president Sukhbir Badal announced to field Majithia from there "to dismantle his arrogance".

Moga

Moga, a Congress stronghold, will be contested by Malvika Sood, sister of Bollywood actor Sonu Sood. She faces AAP's Dr Amandeep Kaur and SAD's Barjinder Singh Brar.

Jalalabad

Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal has opted to contest from Jalalabad where he was elected as an MLA in 2009, 2012 and 2017. As Badal chose to contest the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 which he won, Congress clinched the seat during the bypolls that followed. This time around, Badal is up against Mohan Singh of the Congress and Jagdeep Goldi Kamboj of the AAP.

(With DHNS inputs)

Check out latest DH videos here