About 60 pc peaceful polling in Patiala Urban segment

Friday, 22/08/2014

http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=113244&boxid=58779&uid=&dat=2014-08-22

PATIALA: There was about 60 per cent voting in the Patiala Urban constituency which went to polls in the by-election held on Thursday. The polling, which was generally peaceful with massive deployment of police and security forces, started on a dull note and picked up as the day advanced.

Former Union Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur of the Congress, who has also been a three-time MP, is locked in a grim electoral battle with Bhagwan Dass Juneja of the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance and Harjit Singh Adaltiwala of the Aam Aadmi Party. The election was necessitated by the resignation of Capt Amarinder Singh from this assembly segment after he got elected to the Lok Sabha from Amritsar trouncing BJP heavyweight Arun Jaitley.

Bhagwan Dass Juneja along with his family members cast his vote at the YPS polling booth early in the day while Preneet Kaur and her husband and Capt Amarinder Singh cast their vote at the Government College for Girls polling booth around 9:00 am.

The stakes are high for both the Congress and the SAD in this constituency. Capt Amarinder Singh camped here for almost two weeks and addressed scores of election meetings. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal also addressed meetings in favour of Juneja. The SAD fielded a Hindu candidate from this constituency in view of the majority Hindu voters here. Harjit Singh Adaltiwala of the AAP had Arvind Kejriwal and other senior leaders of the party participating in road shows to garner support for him. In the last parliamentary elections AAP candidate Dr Dharmvir Gandhi had trounced Preneet Kaur by about 20,000 votes.

The Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine candidate Bhagwan Dass Juneja and Youth Akali Dal Treasurer Harpal Juneja have thanked the people of Patiala for their overwhelming support in the this historic elections and totally peaceful and incident free election in the city.

In a joint statement here on Thursday, both the SAD leaders said that this election had proved those wrong who were predicting violence and were trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the city. They said that people have proved that this is a city of peace loving citizens. They said that support and encouragement which people gave to the Juneja family throughout the election campaign is memorable for the Juneja family. They said that

Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh and his wife and the party candidate for Patiala Urban Preneet Kaur late in the evening thanked the people for participating in the polling in a peaceful manner. They also lauded the efficient conduct and handling of the polls by the local administration and the police.

In a joint statement Capt Amarinder Singh and Preneet Kaur said they were overwhelmed by the love and trust reposed in them by the people. They went around the city during the day meeting people and talking to workers which boosted their morale and confidence. They said that given the enthusiasm among the workers on Thursday, the party was certain to win the seat by a record margin.

Earlier in the day, in an informal conversation with media persons, after casting his vote Capt Amarinder Singh said that these by-elections in Patiala and Talwandi Sabo had established that Congress was in a strong position and was set to form the government in the state in 2017. He rejected the assumption that there was any factionalism in the Congress. To a question as why he did not go to Talwandi Sabo or the PCC president Partap Singh Bajwa did not come to Patiala, Capt Amarinder Singh said,“It was not possible for everybody to be present everywhere.” He said that it worked well that the PCC president staying put in Talwandi Sabo while he himself remained in Patiala which helped in both being able to remain focused in their respective constituencies.

“Both seats are crucial for the Congress in terms of 2017 elections and the campaign worked in a way that both the constituencies had proper representation by the senior party leadership,” he said, while expressing confidence that the party will win both the seats.

Referring to the Aam Aadmi Party, he said, it was a bubble that would burst in these by-elections only and people will not even remember by 2017 that there was something like AAP. “It was just a one-time wonder like flash in the pan,” he remarked.

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