Punjab Election Result 2017 highlights: Amarinder meets Governor, oath-taking ceremony on 16 March

Amarinder Singh says his govt will form 'Special Task Force' to curb the drug menace

Amarinder Singh asserted that his government will form a 'Special Task Force' to curb the drug menace in Punjab, while making the state more investor-friendly. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him full cooperation for the development of the state.

On the vexed issue of Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, Amarinder said it was important to see the quantum of water available with Punjab. "When Punjab does not have enough water, the question of giving it to other states does not arise," he said. He said Punjab has 60 percent of agrarian land with just eight MAF (million acre-feet) water, while Haryana with 40 percent of agriculture land has 12 MAF water. The Congress' chief ministerial candidate said he was committed to fulfill all the promises made by the party in its election manifesto.

Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir promise to be a part of a 'responsible opposition'

Parkash Singh Badal resigns

Outgoing chief minister Parkash Singh Badal met Governor VP Singh Badnore earlier today and tendered his resignation. The 89-year-old leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won from Lambi, but his party fared poorly winning just 15 seats while SAD's alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won just three seats at the end of counting of votes on 11 march. SAD, however, was the second most popular party in terms of votes receiving 25.2% of the total vote share.

Two Congress workers killed in clash with SAD | India Today

With the results being declared, the knives are out in Punjab. According to India Today, two Congress workers were killed in the state during a violent clash with Shiromani Akali Dal workers in Mansa.

Earlier today, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Captain Amarinder Singh said that his party won't indulge in vendetta politics. Will this event change his party's stand?

Amarinder Singh promises Congress won't engage in 'vendetta politics'

"On the first cabinet meeting, we will bring those issues which have no monetary involvement," said Amarinder Singh.

"We will liberalise industrial policy," he further said.

"The prime minister assured me of all support on the financial front...I have asked the prime minister for debt waiver. We will also reform Punjab police," said the Congress' chief ministerial candidate.

"I spoke to Priyanka Gandhi and told her we'll bounce back in UP," he also said.

"There will be no vendetta politics, no victimisation. There is a Constitution and law. You can't just break all that," Singh said, when asked about what action he'll take against people from the SAD-BJP alliance facing allegations of promoting drug trade.

"Punjab's security lies in the security of ties with our neighbours," he also said.

AAP was hyped too much: Captain Amarinder Singh | CNN-News18

Speaking to the TV channel, Captain Amarinder Singh said that AAP was too much hyped. "When they were saying that they are going to sweep Malwa. Even I started wondering how are they going to win Malwa, which has been our own bastion for so many years. But when I started going around, I realised that people liked us," Singh said.

Clarifying on his allegations of AAP promoting fringe elements in the state, Singh once again said that lot of people who joined AAP have some sort of grudge against the country. "There are people who think differently who curse Congress, and talk about 1984. They (AAP) were collecting individuals who had a grouse against the country and not just Punjab," he said.

Singh also rubbished claims of AAP emerging as a national party. He said the party's true colours have come out. " I don't think anything is going to happen for them in 2019," he added.

Expected to win 66-plus seats: Captain Amarinder Singh | CNN-News18

"I expected 66 plus or minus seat, but we have gotten way above our expectations. In fact, our poll strategist Prashant Kishor has said that if the bubble of AAP burst we will cross 70, but else it will be somewhere around 66."

Congress wins 73 seats so far, counting in progress in three

At 5.30 pm, the tally of seats stood at 74 for Congress with leading in three, 20 for AAP and 18 for SAD-BJP. The Lok Insaf Party won two seats.

Rahul Gandhi thanks Punjab for support | ANI

Captain Amarinder Singh: Lone star in Congress's falling ship

In the massive shipwreck that the political fortunes of the Congress party have faced in the past few years, the only name to bob up and stay afloat on the political waters is that of Captain Amarinder Singh.

He was the lone star that the Congress could flaunt among its slim victory numbers in the 2014 general elections when he had defeated BJP bigwig Arun Jaitley in a one-sided battle in Amritsar constituency.

And today, he is the lone star in leading the party to victory in a state at a time when Congress has almost vanished from the entire country. It's befitting that on the day he turns 75, he is getting the gift of a state that he has nurtured politically during the stormiest times in the history of the Congress party.

Congress inches closer to majority with 57 wins, leads in 22 seats

Riding on the anger against the Badals and the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance, the Indian National Congress has won 57 seats (at 3 pm), just two seats away from the 59- seat mark that is required to prove majority in Punjab Assembly. Captain Amarinder Singh seems to have flinched success for the national party in Punjab which went for polling along with four other states in February and March this year.

Key constituencies where high-profile candidates battled in Punjab

Narendra Modi congratulates Captain Amarinder Singh

Congress leading in 78 seats: News18

If Congress actually wins 78 seats in Punjab, it will have 2/3rd majority in the state Assembly. Even other reports are saying that Congress is leading in almost 78 seats.

Having said that, AAP+ is now leading in more seats than the SAD-BJP alliance. Even though the exit polls were horribly wrong about a close Congress-AAP contest in the state, this is still a decent show from AAP, considering this was they were participating in Punjab polls for the first time.

Seats won so far

Congress: 9
AAP: 3
SAD-BJP: 0

Trends so far

News18

Congress: 75
AAP+: 24
SAD-BJP: 18

Times Now

Congress: 72
AAP+: 27
SAD-BJP: 17

India Today TV

Congress: 74
AAP+: 24
SAD-BJP: 17

NDTV

Congress: 75
AAP+: 25
SAD-BJP: 17

This is the revival of Congress: Navjot Singh Sidhu

"The final innings of Rahulji, Soniaji and Amarinderji worked," said Navjot Singh Sidhu as Congress is set to win in Punjab.

"Dharma has won today. Everytime evil takes over somewhere, God teaches arrogant people a lesson," he said. "The two arrogant leaders of the Akali Dal have been taught a lesson."

"Rumours on social media started by trolls have not worked. The trolls have been defeated," Sidhu said.

"This is the revival of the Congress. It is just the beginning. Take energy from Punjab and spread," said the Congress, who was once in BJP. "We have to fight for Punjab now instead of giving in to joy," he said.

Sukhbir Singh Badal leading in Jalalabad

It seems Bhagwant Mann's wit and jokes did not work in Jalalabad as he is trailing in the constituency by 9,314 votes.

Meanwhile, HS Phoolka is leading in Dakha by 1,828 votes, according to the Election Commission.

Congress set for landslide victory in Punjab

Congress: 67

SAD-BJP: 27

AAP+: 23

Political analysts are saying that Captain Amarinder Singh's magic worked while AAP needs to realise that mere antics do not translate into votes.

News18 calls Punjab, says Congress will win

Congress is now leading in 61 seats in Punjab. While the exit polls had predicted a massive defeat for SAD-BJP, the alliance is actually leading in 30 seats in the state. AAP got the most disappointing numbers are they are third, leading in 23 seats.

Congress now leading in 54 seats

Here are the trends so far:

Congress: 54

AAP+: 21

SAD-BJP: 26

Trends so far according to reports

News18:

AAP+: 10

Congress: 23

SAD-BJP: 10

Times Now:

AAP+: 13

Congress: 25

SAD-BJP: 8

India Today TV:

AAP+: 11

Congress: 16

SAD-BJP: 6

NDTV:

AAP+: 16

Congress: 38

SAD-BJP: 9

Trends so far according to reports

News18:

AAP+: 3

Congress: 1

SAD-BJP: 1

Times Now:

AAP+: 6

Congress: 15

SAD-BJP: 2

India Today TV:

AAP+: 3

Congress: 3

SAD-BJP: 1

NDTV:

AAP+: 1

Congress: 8

SAD-BJP: 1

This election is make-or-break for Kejriwal

Exit polls have written the obituary of ruling SAD-BJP combine in this border state. That could well be the case but early leads from 9 seats in Punjab (according to The Times of India) show Congress leading in 6 seats, SAD in 2 and favourites AAP in one seat. Arvind Kejriwal had been focusing all his energies on Punjab for the last one year and Punjab result would be a make-or-break one for him.

Punjab's candidates are the richest

The great battle of Lambi

The electoral tussle between Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Captain Amarinder Singh would be remembered as the great battle of Lambi. History suggests no one takes on the Badal senior on his home turf and goes back a winner. But the Congress chief has decided to take the battle right into the bastion of the aging Akali Dal war horse. Prestige is at stake for both and it remains to be seen who ends up with a bloodied nose. The AAP has fielded Jarnail Singh on the seat and he is getting some traction among people too. Let’s wait for a few hours to know who wins the battle of Lambi.

Some important facts you should know about Punjab

Literacy: 76.94%

Sex ratio: 895

Infant Mortality Rate: 11

Unemployment rate: 5.8%

GSDP: 5.32% (Over the previous year)

Revenue deficit: Rs 7,983 crore

Fiscal deficit: Rs 13,087 crore (3%)

Outstanding debt: Rs 1,38,165 crore in 2016-17

Per capita income: Rs 1,14,561 (National: Rs 86,879) for FY 14-15

Why AAP will be the party to watch out for

AAP will be the party to keep an eye on in this election. A victory — a possibility going by exit polls — here would be the first step towards its pan-Indian expansion. From a half-state, which is Delhi, the party will shift to a state with full constitutional power. In Delhi, the party’s performance has been less than satisfactory. This could be, as the party says, due to the fact that the government does not have control over crucial spheres such as the police, land and services. Punjab would offer no such handicap. All eyes would on the quality of the ministry. This, however, will happen if the party gets the numbers to form the government. It has been called a ‘party of jokers’ by political rivals. Let’s watch whom the joke is on.

The significance of an AAP victory in Punjab

Even after applying statutory exit poll disclaimers, it seems fairly certain that in Punjab, AAP will either form the government on its own or fall just short — a staggeringly successful causatum for a party that was floated only in 2012. Think about it. Under less than five years of its existence, AAP now rules a quasi-state in Delhi and is poised to clinch power in a full state.

In Goa, pollsters have predicted a modest debut for AAP with somewhere between 2-4 in the 40-seat Assembly with India News-MRC being the most optimistic at 7. But even AAP may admit that it didn't directed even a fraction of its strategic attention, human capital and resources in Goa that it did in Punjab led by a belief that amid the bipolarity of SAD-BJP and Congress, it has oodles of space to grow.

Trends and results to be available from 8 am

Voters exacted revenge from the Badals

Warning signs for the ruling Akali-BJP alliance in Punjab had first surfaced in the 2014 elections with two distinct results. The first was the humiliating defeat of finance minister Arun Jaitley in the Akali bastion of Amritsar at the hands of Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh. The second was the phenomenal rise of AAP in the state's Malwa region.

Credit goes to Bhagwant Mann if AAP wins

Bhagwant Mann is no laughing matter. The former comedian could prove to be the joker in the pack in Punjab. If the Aam Aadmi Party wins in the state, the credit for it would go largely to Mann. He is the man who got the party the crowds and wild following, not so much Arvind Kejriwal. Whether the party would discover a serious politician in the funny guy and anoint him chief minister is a matter of conjecture though. The party has to win first.