Punjab assembly byelections: AAP, Congress leading in two seats each

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress were neck-and-neck in the high-stakes byelections to four assembly constituencies in Punjab, leading in two seats each on Saturday.
The ruling AAP was leading in Chabbewal and Gidderbaha assembly constituencies, while the Congress was ahead of its rivals Dera Baba Nanak and Barnala, according to the trends in the counting of votes at 11 am.
In Chabbewal, AAP’s Ishank Kumar Chabbewal consolidated his position as he was leading with 30,261 votes over his nearest rival and Congress candidate Ranjit Kumar, who polled 13,534 votes, after the eighth round of counting. Sohan Singh Thandal of the BJP was trailing at the third spot with 3,642 votes. 
In Gidderbaha, AAP’s Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon was leading his nearest rival, Amrita Warring of the Congress, by 5,976 votes. BJP’s Manpreet Singh Badal was trailing in the third position with 4,643 votes.
In Dera Baba Nanak, Congress candidate Jatinder Kaur Randhawa is leading with 24,705 votes over AAP candidate Gurdeep Singh Randhawa, who got 22,827 votes, after seven rounds of counting. Jatinder Kaur is the wife of Gurdaspur Congress MP and former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. BJP’s Ravikaran Kahlon is at the third spot with 2,736 votes. 
In Barnala, Congress’ Kuldeep Singh Dhillon was ahead of AAP’s BJP’s Kewal Singh Dhillon by 2,750 votes after eight rounds. AAP’s Harinder Singh Dhaliwal was trailing in the third position with 10, 902 votes. His prospects were spoiled by party rebel Gurdeep Singh Batth who has polled 9,071 votes.
Three of these four seats – Dera Baba Nanak, Gidderbaha, and Chabbewal – were won by the Congress in 2022, while the fourth, Barnala, was held by the AAP.
Counting of votes for the four byelections in Punjab began at 8am on Saturday.
The byelections for Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala took place on November 20. The bypolls were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.