Punjab: Sarpanch’s name announced 18 hours after polling ended

Punjab: The results of the panchayat elections in Sukhna Ablu village of Gidderbaha assembly constituency were declared at around 10.30 am today, after nearly five rounds of counting and 18 hours after polling ended. Congress-backed candidate Surinderpal Kaur won the sarpanch election by just one vote over AAP-backed candidate Manjinder Kaur. The situation remained tense here till the results were declared. Supporters of all the three sarpanch candidates – Surinderpal, Manjinder and Kuldeep Kaur – protested outside the school where polling and counting took place.

PCC chief Amarinder Singh Raja Waring had warned the district administration that it would face action if any untoward incident took place. “I want the SDM of Gidderbaha and all the officials conducting the election in Sukhna Ablu to remain impartial or be ready to face action,” Waring said in a video uploaded on his Facebook page during the day. He had further claimed in the video that counting was being done for the fifth time and one candidate was earlier winning by five votes, but later the victory margin reduced to three votes. Sukhna Abloo presiding officer Deepak Kumar Sethi said, “The results were declared late as the margin of victory was narrow and the candidates were demanding recounting. Now, the results have been declared and the candidates are satisfied. Surinderpal got 1,358 votes while Manjinder got 1,357 votes.”