Punjab Election Results 2017: Here's how top candidates fared in the Assembly poll

Captain Amarinder Singh has succeeded in resurrecting Congress in Punjab. Riding on a high incumbency wave and anger against the Badals and the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance, Singh flinched success for the national party in Punjab which went for polling along with four other states in February and March this year.

Congress won 77 seats at the end of counting in Punjab on Saturday. The Aam Admi Party came second with 20 seats.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Singh had said, “I had expected 66 plus or minus seat, but we have gotten way above our expectations. In fact, our poll strategist Prashant Kishore has said that if the bubble of AAP burst we will cross 70, but else it will be somewhere around 66.”

“People have given me bonus seats,” he added.

After a bitter political battle that went on for months between parties, which involved mud-slinging, allegations, counter-allegations, half-truths and downright lies, Congress had made a slow start in the state as compared to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), but caught up fast thanks to the relentless campaigning by Captain Amarinder Singh and other Congress leaders in the state.

Earlier, exit polls had predicted a close contest between AAP and Congress. The India Today-Axis My India poll was the only exit poll which had predicted a clear majority for the Congress and said the party was likely to win 62-71 seats, the closest to what counting of votes has revealed so far.

Aam Aadmi Party which was expected to give a tough fight to Congress according to exit polls has won 17 seats and is leading in 6 seats. The Times Now-VMR and CVoter India predicted AAP as victorious winning 61 and 59-67 seats respectively. The two exit polls predicted 48 and 41-49 seats for Congress and 7 and 5-13 seats for the SAD-BJP alliance respectively. SAD managed wins in just eight seats and is leading in nine seats.

Here’s a list of the top constituencies who will seal the fate of some high-profile candidates of the parties.

To see how the counting day progressed on Saturday, click here to read our election blog.