Jailed Khalistani separatist and Waris Punjab De Chief Amritpal Singh is leading by 50,405 votes from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, according to the latest trends from the Election Commission of India. Amritpal Singh, contesting as an independent candidate, has Congress leader Kulbir Singh Zira trailing behind, while the Aam Aadmi Party candidate is lagging by 51,328 votes.
Amritpal Singh was arrested by Punjab police in April last year, weeks after evading capture for over a month, with the stringent National Security Act invoked against him. In the 2019 elections, the Khadoor Sahib seat was won by Congress’ Jasbir Singh Gill. This time, Congress has nominated Kuldeep Singh Zira, BJP has put forward Manjit Singh Manna, AAP is represented by Laljit Singh Bhullar, and the Akali Dal has Virsa Singh Valtoha as its candidate.
Voting for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab took place on June 1, during the seventh phase of the elections. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is leading in the two Lok Sabha seats of Wayanad in Kerala and Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh as per the initial trends.
Around 642 million people voted in the Lok Sabha elections, which were held over seven phases in a six-week period. The counting of votes began with postal ballots amid tight security. The counting for 175 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and 147 Assembly constituencies in Odisha, along with results of bypolls in 25 Assembly constituencies, also started.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming for a third consecutive term in power, while the Opposition, united under the INDIA bloc, is trying to unseat the ruling party. Most exit polls have predicted a clear term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with many projecting a two-thirds majority for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Before the vote counting began, the BJP had already secured the Surat Lok Sabha seat. On April 22, Mukesh Dalal won the election “unopposed” after Congress nominee Nilesh Kumbhani’s candidacy was rejected due to discrepancies in the proposers’ signatures. The Lok Sabha elections for 543 seats were conducted across seven phases.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has approved the nomination of Amritpal Singh, the Chief of Waris Punjab De, a pro-Khalistani separatist group, to run as an independent candidate in Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency. Singh submitted his nomination on May 10, despite being in custody at Dibrugarh jail in Assam.