As many as 559 contestants, including prominent leaders - Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal patron and a five-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal filed their nomination papers for the 2022 Assembly elections in Punjab on Monday.
Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S. Karuna Raju said 559 nominations were filed on January 31 and with this, the total number of nominations filed has reached 1178.
Mr. Channi, who was announced as Congress party’s candidate from the Bhadaur (SC) constituency in Barnala district, also filed his nomination papers. Mr. Channi is contesting from Chamkaur Sahib seat as well, which he has represented thrice in the State Assembly.
The 94-year-old, former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal filed his nomination papers from Lambi constituency. At 94, he is the oldest candidate contesting in the upcoming Assembly polls.Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, former Deputy Chief Minister filed his nomination from Jalalabad constituency.
Former Chief Minister and Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Amarinder Singh filed his nomination papers from Patiala Urban.
Punjab will go to polls on February 20. The nomination process, which started on January 25, will continue till February 1. The scrutiny of nominations will be done on February 2 and the last date of withdrawal of candidature is February 4.In the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, Congress registered a resounding victory by winning 77 seats in the 117 member Punjab Legislative Assembly. The Aam Aadmi Party won 20 seats while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) finished third with only 15 seats to its credit. The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) won three seats.
