Punjab elections results 2012: SAD-BJP combine attains majority|Election News

Punjab elections results 2012: SAD-BJP combine attains majority|Election News 

Chandigarh: Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine on Tuesday attained majority by winning 68 out of total 117 Assembly seats.
Congress, which had announced Amarinder Singh as its Chief Ministerial candidate and was hoping to wrest power after five years, has managed to win 46 seats, while others tasted victory on three seats.
The prominent winners include BJP's Navjot Kaur from Amritsar East, state Congress chief Amarinder Singh (Patiala), former SGPC president Jagir Kaur, Hockey Olympian Pargat Singh and Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma.
The prominent losers include Amarinder's son Raninder (Samana), SAD ministers Upinderjit Kaur and Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Tikshan Sud (BJP) and deputy Speaker of Punjab Assembly Satpal Gosain (BJP).
Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur (SAD) lost from Sultanpur Lodhi by 4,298 votes to Congress' Navtej Singh. Cooperation Minister Ranjit Singh Brahampura, who was elected from Naushehra Panuan in 2007 lost to Ramanjit Singh of Congress from Khadoor Sahab.
The other Congress winners were Joginder Singh (Jaito), Kewal Dhillon (Barnala), Raj Kumar (Amritsar West) and SAS Nagar Mohali Balbir Singh Sidhu. SAD nominees Janmeja Singh (Maur), Hameet Singh Sandhu (Tarn Taran), Gurbachan Singh Babbehali (Gurdaspur) and Ajit Singh Kohar (Shahkot) retained their seats.
The other SAD winners were Manpreet Singh Aiyali (Dakha), Pawan Kumar Tinu (Adampur), Sharanjit Singh Dhillon (Sahnewal), Sarwam Singh (Kartarpur), Mantar Singh Brar (Kot Kapura) and Sikander Singh Maluka (Rampura Phul).
BJP winners were former minister and sitting member Manoranjan Kalia (Jalandhar Central), former minister Madam Mohan Mittal (Anandpur Sahab) and former IAS officer Som Parkash (Phagwara).
Congress won Talwandi Sabo, Amritsar Central, Rajpura, Nabha and Patiala seats, while SAD won Balchaur, Attari, Faridkot and Ghanuar. BJP won the Amritsar East seat.
Former chief minister and Congress leader Amarinder Singh retained the Patiala seat, defeating SAD's Surjit Singh Kohli by 42,318 votes.
Congress nominee Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu retained the Talwandi Sabo seat, defeating Amarjit Singh Sidhu (SAD) by a margin of 8,524 votes.
The other Congress winners were Om Parksh Soni (Amritsar Central), Hardyal Singh Kamboj (Rajpura) and Sadhu Singh (Nabha).
SAD's Nand Lal retained the Balchaur seat, defeating Shiv Ram Singh (BSP by a margin of 14,857 votes). Gulzar Singh Ranike of the SAD retained the Attari seat defeating his nearest rival Tarsem Singh (Cong) by a margin of 4,983 votes.
Deep Malhotra of SAD annexed the Faridkot seat defeating sitting member Avtar Singh Brar (Congress) by a margin of 2,727 votes.
SADs Harpreet Kaur defeated Madan Lal Jalalpur of Congress by a margin of 1,778 votes to win from Ghanaur.
BJP MP Navjot Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur, who was elected from Amritsar East constituency, defeating her nearest rival Simarpreet Kaur (Independent) by a margin of 7,099 votes.

The mammoth counting exercise began at 8 am amid tight surveillance of the poll officials.
The ruling SAD-BJP alliance, the Congress and BSP have contested all the 117 assembly seats. While the newly floated Punjab People's Party contested on 92 seats, SAD (Amritsar) headed by former IPS officer Simranjit Singh Mann sought votes at 57 assembly constituencies.
The SAD fielded its candidates on 94 seats which included 10 women while the BJP contesting the remaining 23 seats, which included three women.
The Congress fielded 11 women while the BSP fielded six.

The election to the 117-member assembly mostly witnessed a triangular contest between the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, the main opposition Congress and the Sanjha Morcha which includes the Left and People's Party of Punjab (PPP) led by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's estranged nephew Manpreet.
Prominent among those who contested elections include Parkash Singh Badal (Lambi), his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister (Jalalabad), Captain Amarinder Singh (Patiala City) and his son Raninder (Samana) besides another former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehra).