CHANDIGARH: Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sprang a surprise by registering a landslide victory in the Punjab assembly elections on Thursday, ousting the Congress party from yet another state.
As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), the AAP was set to win 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab legislative assembly.
AAP leader Bhagwant Mann, who won from Dhuri assembly constituency, is all set to become the next chief minister of the border state. “I congratulate Bhagwant Mann for becoming the new chief minister of Punjab,” AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal said.
Mann defeated Congress candidate Dalvir Singh Goldy by a margin of more than 58,000 votes.
Addressing party workers in New Delhi, he said, “We must remember achievement comes with responsibilities and we must do our best to fulfil the expectation of the people in Punjab.”
In a tweet, he said: “Congratulations to all of you on this glorious victory of new hopes of honest politics in the country.”
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who took over from Captain Amarinder Singh just months before the polls, lost from both Bhadaur and Chamkaur Sahib assembly constituencies by AAP candidates.
Captain Amarinder Singh, who was removed from the CM post by the party leadership after a feud with state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, lost from Patiala seat.
Sidhu was also defeated by AAP candidate Jeevan Jyot Kaur in Amritsar East. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who was also contesting from Amritsar East, finished third.