Punjab bypoll: Voting for Taran Taran Assembly seat underway, electors reach early
In Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, voters lined up on Tuesday to cast ballots for a new assembly seat. The poll began at 7 a.m. and will run until 6 p.m., giving residents plenty of time to head to their polling stations.
The chief electoral officer said the seat has 192,838 registered voters: 100,933 men, 91,897 women, and eight third‑gender voters. A small but notable share of voters includes 1,357 service voters, 1,657 seniors over 85, 306 overseas voters, and 1,488 people with disabilities. Young people also made the most of the day, with 3,333 voters aged 18 to 19.
Tarn Taran has 222 polling stations spread across 114 locations, with 60 in urban areas and 162 in rural areas. “There has been no report of any delay in starting the poll process,” said an electoral officer.
The by‑poll follows the death of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal, who had won the seat with 52,935 votes. His passing has triggered a fresh contest. Fifteen candidates are now vying for the seat, including Sukhwinder Kaur of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Harjit Singh Sandhu of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Harmeet Singh Sandhu of AAP and Karanbir Singh of the Indian National Congress. Votes will be counted on November 14.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently suspended Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police Ravjot Kaur Grewal. The move came after the SAD president, Sukhbir Singh Badal, lodged a complaint that the SSP had misused police power to influence the election.
According to the complaint, the AAP‑led state government had directed the police to target SAD workers and supporters, and the SSP’s actions were described as unfair interference. The suspension follows the SAD’s claim that party members were forcibly detained before the by‑poll began.
The new election will be watched closely by political observers and the public alike. With a wide mix of voters and a clear set of candidates, the Tarn Taran by‑poll highlights the democratic pulse of Punjab. Keep following the story to see who will win the seat and how the results could shift the political balance in the state.
Source: ianslive
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