Fate sealed,celebrations begin

Harjinder Kaur was clearly ahead of her nearest rival Gurnam Singh for the lone Chandigarh seat as counting began after the ballots were cast. In Mohali city,Paramjit Kaur Landran and Jatinder Pal Singh,too,were heading towards victory,while in Ambala constituency of which Panchkula is a part,SAD candidates Gurdeep Singh and Suraj Singh were ahead of the others.

Chandigarh witnessed 68 per cent voting with 10,900 of the total 16,000 registered voters casting their vote. Since morning,the 28 polling stations were brimming with activity,some more than the others. All the polling stations had been declared sensitive and votes were polled amid tight security. Tents had been set up with posters of the candidates adorning the area around the polling booths.

With Manimajra having the maximum number of voters followed by Dhanas,the hustle and bustle of election was more pronounced here. In fact,Manimajra had four polling stations. The voters at the other places were less in number.

There were nine candidates in the fray for the elections. Of these nine,two had extended support to other candidates after the date of withdrawl of nomination. While the ballot papers carried the names of all nine candidates,there were effectively only seven candidates contesting the polls.

The voters were brought to the polling stations in cars hired by the candidates and their supporters. The cars with orange coloured flags bearing the symbol of the nishan sahib were used for ferrying the voters.

The election activity was more visible in the villages than in the sectors where the number of voters are less. The elections were mostly peaceful apart from one or two incidents,where one candidate accused the other of trying to influence their voters by forcibly taking them away.

Gurnam Singh said the margin of votes is not very high. “The results have not been favourable. In some areas votes got distributed due to the independent candidates from those particular areas. This did not work in our favour,” he said.

In most of the polling stations that Gurnam Singh considered his stronghold,independent candidates provided a setback. Particularly in Manimajra and Dhanas,this trend was visible.

Meanwhile,Harjinder Kaur,who is councillor of the Akali Dal and former mayor,said it was the love and affection shown by the people that helped her win the election.

“It the victory of truth. Gurnam Singh was backed by the Congress and so the people rejected him. The support extended by Gurpratap Singh Riar a few days before the elections also strengthened the party,” she said.