New Delhi: The assembly elections results have produced some major upsets, with the entire Badal family being wiped out in the Punjab assembly elections, two sitting chief ministers trailing from their seats, and two former chief ministers losing.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Parkash Singh Badal, the longest serving chief minister of Punjab, lost from Lambi constituency, while his son and party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal lost from Jalalabad. Sukhbir’s brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia lost from Amritsar East, while cousin Manpreet Singh Badal, who served as the finance minister in the outgoing Congress government, was trailing in Bathinda Urban.
Other bigwigs who lost in Punjab include state Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, also from Amritsar East, while former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, who floated his own Punjab Lok Congress party and contested in alliance with the BJP, also lost from his bastion Patiala.
Incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was trailing from both Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur.
Meanwhile, in Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, the incumbent CM who was declared the BJP’s face, is trailing in Khatima, even as the party is defying exit poll predictions of a close contest and registering a solid majority with leads in 48 of the 70 seats. With Dhami’s defeat, the chief ministership could suddenly be up for grabs, though BJP sources insist he’ll continue as CM even if he loses.
Senior Congress leader and former CM Harish Rawat lost from Lal Kuan seat, finishing over 14,000 votes behind BJP’s Mohan Singh Bisht. But Rawat’s daughter, Anupama Rawat, won from Haridwar (Rural).
(Edited by Shreyas Sharma)
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