Punjab Election Results 2022 Updates: AAP sweeps Punjab with three-fourths majority

With exit polls predicting a victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, party's state co-in charge Raghav Chadha on Thursday said AAP has emerged major national force and will be a "natural and national" replacement of Congress. With exit polls predicting a victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, party's state co-in charge Raghav Chadha on Thursday said AAP has emerged major national force and will be a "natural and national" replacement of Congress, Chadha said.

It is the first time that BJP fought over 65 seats in Punjab. It tied up with former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress and SAD (Sanyukt) led by SS Dhindsa. BJP leaders have talked of putting up a strong performance in the polls. However the BJP and its allies are not predicted to do well, according to the surveys. Former ally Shiromani Akali Dal had broken off its alliance with BJP over three farm laws that were eventually repealed.

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed hope of the party getting majority with its ally."SAD represents the voice of people. I hope God gives us the chance to do Seva of the people," he said.

Congress went into the polls having battled factionalism and anti-incumbency. The party changed its chief minister in September last year. It declared Charanjit Singh Channi, the first Dalit Chief Minister of Punjab, as its chief ministerial candidate days before the polling. Channi played down the prediction of exit polls and urged people to wait for the results."Only boxes (EVMs) will tell what has to happen. All of you, please wait till March 10," he said.

With exit polls predicting Aam Aadmi Party's victory in Punjab, the party is looking forward to the results on Thursday with heightened expectations. AAP's chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann exuded confidence of the party's victory on Wednesday."We talked about hospitals, schools, electricity (during campaigns). People have rejected other parties and good results will come tomorrow. I'm not an astrologer but I know people of Punjab want a change. The number of seats we can cross is 80 even 100," Mann said.

With the 2022 elections different from all other Punjab polls since 1966, the border state is ready for a new political script. After 55 years of bipolar contests where two sides played the government alternately (2012 being an exception when the Shiromani Akali Dal retained power), 2022 was the state’s first multicornered contests where the hegemony of traditional parties Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal seemed threatened.

The Congress and its former leader and ex-CM, Captain Amarinder Singh are ready to settle their big fight for the Patiala (urban) seat. Amarinder, who floated his own party — Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) — an unceremonious exit from the Congress in September last year, had pitched his 300-year family ties with Patiala to the voters. Also, to silence the rumours of him changing his seat to avoid challenge from his bête noire, Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, he had dared the latter to contest from Patiala. He also stiched an alliance with the BJP, getting its top brass to campaign for him in Patiala.

Even as political leaders across parties held their breath ahead of the results of Punjab assembly elections amid fears of poaching, the Congress has called a meeting of its Congress Legislative Party (CLP) of the newly-elected MLAs on Thursday evening.

All arrangements have been made for the counting of votes on Thursday, when the Election Commission of India (ECI) will announce the fate of 1,304 candidates contesting multi-cornered elections for the 117-member Punjab legislative assembly, for which voting was held on February 20. Thursday has been declared a dry day till the counting of votes is completed.