Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sibin C announced that the by-elections for four Punjab Vidhan Sabha seats had a voter turnout of 63% as of 6 pm.
However, the final turnout figures will be updated tomorrow morning after all polling parties return to the collection centers and complete the data entry process.
The polling for the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC), and Barnala assembly seats began at 7 am ended at 6 pm, but the turnout may increase once all voting data comes in.
At Dera Pathana village under the Dera Baba Nanak Assembly segment, AAP and Congress supporters clashed with each other and also engaged in heated arguments. A heavy police force was deployed to diffuse the tension.
Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, the husband of Congress nominee for the bypolls Jatinder Kaur, claimed that some "outsiders" thrashed a Congress worker in the village on the behest of the AAP and also alleged inaction on the part of the police.
AAP nominee Gurdeep Singh Randhawa, who also reached the spot, rejected Randhawa's allegations.
The bypolls are seen as a litmus test for Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann whose government completed two-and-half-years in office.
A strong showing in the bypolls will be a big boost for Mann after his party's dismal performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in which it could win just three of the 13 parliamentary constituencies in Punjab.
The stakes are also high for the main opposition Congress. A lot is at stake for its MPs Raja Warring and Sukhjinder Randhawa whose wives were in the fray from Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak seats, respectively.
The BJP is also looking to put up a strong show in the bypolls after it drew a blank in the general elections. It had managed to double its vote share in the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab from 9.63 per cent in 2019 to 18.56 per cent in 2024.
Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, the BJP's Barnala candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon, its Chabbewal nominee Sohan Singh Thandal, Congress candidate from Dera Baba Nanak Jatinder Kaur and her husband Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and the Congress' Barnala nominee Kuldeep Singh Dhillon were among the early voters.
Forty-five candidates, including three women, are in the fray for the bypolls. A total of 6.96 lakh voters, including 3.31 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise at 831 polling stations.
Among the key contestants in the fray are former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Kewal Singh Dhillon, Sohan Singh Thandal and Ravikaran Singh Kahlon of the BJP, Amrita Warring and Jatinder Kaur of the Congress, and Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon and Ishank Kumar Chabbewal of the AAP.
The Shiromani Akali Dal has opted to stay away from the bypolls.
More than 6,400 police personnel and 17 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces were deployed for peaceful elections.
The AAP currently has 91 MLAs in the 117-member Punjab Assembly, while the Congress has 15. The Shiromani Akali Dal has three MLAs, BJP two, and the Bahujan Samaj Party one.
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