Anti-incumbency key factor as Punjab records highest ever polling

Chandigarh: The high voltage Lok Sabha elections in Punjab reached its climax today with a 73 percent polling, the highest ever recorded in the state. Yet the poll analysts are confused. Generally a high percentage of voting is thought of as an anti-establishment vote. But in Punjab, while the anti-incumbency factor weighs high in the minds of the people against the ruling SAD and BJP in the state, a similar feeling is there against the UPA government at the centre. [caption id=“attachment_1503713” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, his wife and SAD candidate from Bathinda seat Harsimrat Kaur Badal after casting their vote. PTI[/caption] Single phase voting was held today in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies. The polling percentage in the 2009 general elections in the state was around 70 per cent. But today’s turnout not just beat the 2009 figure, but emerged as the best ever recorded in Punjab. Total number of voters in the state is 1.95 crore, including 1.02 crore male and 92 lakh female voters. In 2009, polling had taken place in two phases, but this year it was held on a single day. Except for a few skirmishes in Moga and Patiala districts, polling was by and large peaceful and incident free throughout the state. In Patiala AAP candidate Dr Dharmvir Gandhi was hurt when the SAD workers reported pelted stones. Later he sat on dharna. Clashes were also reported in Bathinda between Congress and SAD workers. In Moga, SAD and Congress workers clashed with each other resulting in injuries to some 6-7 people. In Jalandhar wife of Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa, reportedly pushed an elderly man in the election booth to allow Bajwa to vote first. At least 400 EVMs which developed snags had to be replaced from all over the state. Polling officials in the state credited the smooth polling to the tight security in the state. As many as 47,355 security personnel had been deployed in Punjab by the Election Commission for today’s polling. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Bathinda had registered the highest voter turnout at 78.75 percent, followed by Sangrur at 74.60 percent. Ludhiana had the lowest percentage of votes at 64.77 percent, said Punjab’s Chief Election Officer (CEO) VK Singh. Congress had got 45.23 percent of the total votes polled in Punjab in 2009, while the Akali Dal received 33.85 percent votes. Among the rest of the parties, only BJP had managed to reach double figures, getting 10.06 percent votes. BSP had got 5.74, Independents/others a mere 4.64 per cent votes, while the CPI and CPI M) got 0.33 and 0.14 percent votes respectively. The Punjab Lok Sabha elections in 2014 was the costliest ever, beating the 2009 figures. Huge sums of money were reportedly spent by candidates in the Lok Sabha poll. CEO, VK Singh, said Patiala had the largest number of voters at 15.7 lakh in this year’s election, while Fatehgarh Sahib had the lowest at 13.9 lakh voters. Punjab has 3.6 lakh voters aged 80 and above and 10 lakh voters between 70 and 80 years old. First time voters are 5.7 lakh and the young voters less than 30 years of age number 48 lakh. As many as 33,000 EVMs were used for the polling today, handled by 40,279 election duty staff. The poll percentage of Punjab, except in 1992 and 1999 has always been higher than the national average, said Singh. Political analysts are analyzing the high percentage of votes due to the aspirations and the desire of people for a change in the state, said Singh. While the anti-incumbency factor against the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP combine was quite visible during the high voltage election campaign here, there seemed simmering anger against the UPA government at the Centre as well. “More than the anti-incumbency factor, it is the sheer anger among the general electorates in Punjab against the two national parties, the Congress and the BJP and the regional party SAD for their misrule over the years,” said Manjit Singh, Spokesman of Aam Admi Party. Reacting to the high percentage of voting today in Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, AAP’s candidate from Sangrur constituency, said, “I am sure of winning the seat as the people here have voted in my favour, while rejecting both the Akalis and the Congress.” From the people’s opinions gathered from all over the state, it was clear that the biggest gainer in this year’s poll could be AAP, while both the SAD-BJP and the Congress were in for setbacks. The much talked about Modi wave in the rest of the country seemed to have little effect in Punjab. In the high-pitched political battle, BJP’s Prime Ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi tried to fuel the ‘Modi wave’ by addressing five rallies in a single day in Punjab. Congress president and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi too campaigned in the state on different days. But during the entire campaign, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was conspicuous by his absence in his home state. The alarming drug problem, unemployment, corruption, power of the sand mafia shortage are some of the major issues. In the 2009 general elections, the Congress had won 8 out of 13 seats, with the SAD winning 4 and the BJP 1. In 2004, when the Congress was the ruling party in Punjab, the SAD-BJP combine had almost swept the poll. While SAD had won 8 seats, its partner BJP had won three while the Congress had managed to win just 2 seats. Both in 2004 and 2009, the BSP, CPI, NCP, RJD, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Independents had failed to win a single seat. The total number of contestants in 2014 poll increased to 253 from 218 in the 2009 general elections. AAP provided a new interesting aspect to the Lok Sabha poll in Punjab. Over the years the Punjab elections have generally seen a fight between SAD-BJP and the Congress, but the entry of AAP made the contest three-cornered in at least half the 13 constituencies. For the first time social media played a very interesting role in the general election in the state. More youth and women participated in voting this time compared to any other previous general elections in the state. Compared to a single woman contestant in 1977 Lok Sabha poll, this time as many as 13 women were in fray in the elections. The Congress and the Akalis fielded two women candidates each, while all the other parties together put up 5 women candidates, while there were 4 independent candidates in the fray.