Counting begins in Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll amid tight security

Counting of votes began Saturday morning for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll that witnessed a four-corner battle among the BJP, Congress, SAD and the ruling AAP. Counting began at 8 am, officials said.

A tight security arrangement has been put in place in and around the counting centres set up at the office of the Director Land Records and Sports College Complex in Kapurthala Road.

Prominent among the 19 candidates in the fray are the AAP's Sushil Rinku, Congress' Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, BJP's Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, and the Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi.

The bypoll, held on May 10, recorded a voter turnout of 54.70 per cent, the officials said. It was well below the 63.04 per cent recorded in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Jalandhar seat had fallen vacant following the death of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in January.

The AAP fielded former MLA Rinku, who joined the party after quitting the Congress, while Atwal moved to the BJP from the SAD. Backe