Punjab Election 2022: What Does Low Voter Turnout Mean In Multi-Cornered Assembly Contest

The main competition in Punjab is between the ruling Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The Akali Dal came together with the BSP in 2020 after severing its two-decade-old ties with the BJP.

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New Delhi: In Punjab, the total voter turnout for the 117-member assembly seats in a multi-dimensional contest was around 71.95 percent. More than 65 percent of polling was recorded in several districts in the Malwa region. 

The region has 69 out of 117 seats. It saw the highest voting percentage as compared to Doaba and Majha regions. Punjab has a multi-dimensional competition with 1304 candidates, including 93 women and two transgenders.

Less Voting Than last Time In Punjab

Punjab has recorded less voter turnout this time as compared to the 2017 assembly elections. In the 2017 Punjab assembly elections, the voting percentage was 77.4 percent. In 2002, 2007, and 2012, the voting percentage was recorded at 65.14 percent, 75.45 percent, and 78.20 percent respectively.

With the low turnout in Punjab this time, the experts are not able to guess which party will benefit from it. There has always been a clash between the Congress and the BJP-Akali Dal alliance. But since 2017, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party has also made an entry. 

Due to this, the competition here has become three-dimensional. At the same time, BJP and Akali Dal are not contesting together this time. Instead, the BJP has joined hands with Captain Amarinder Singh, who parted ways from Congress. 

On the other hand, the Akali Dal has entered into an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party. Some leaders associated with the farmers' movement have formed their own political parties. For this reason, experts are saying that there is no wave of any one party in Punjab.

However, the main contest in Punjab is between the ruling Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The Akali Dal has contested the elections in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party after breaking its two-decade-old ties with the BJP in 2020. 

Apart from the Samyukta Samaj Morcha, the BJP-Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) alliance is also in the fray, which includes farmers' bodies from Punjab, who took part in the agitation against the Center's now-repealed farm laws.