Chandigarh, June 1 (Ozi news desk): Polling commenced on Saturday morning for 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab and the solitary Chandigarh seat during the seventh and final phase of the parliamentary elections. The officials confirmed that the polling, which began at 7 am, will persist until 6 pm under stringent security arrangements. Notably, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), both members of the INDIA bloc, are contesting separately, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are participating in the Lok Sabha polls independently for the first time in over two decades. Following their withdrawal from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2020 due to the now-repealed three farm laws, the SAD, led by Sukhbir Badal, is no longer affiliated with the coalition. In addition to the aforementioned parties, the SAD (Amritsar) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have also fielded their candidates. Consequently, Punjab is poised to witness a multi-cornered contest across all 13 Lok Sabha seats. Meanwhile, in Chandigarh, a total of 6,59,805 voters, including 3,18,226 women and 35 individuals identifying as the third gender, are eligible to exercise their right to vote.
The live updates of the Lok Sabha election 2024 reveal that Punjab has recorded a voting percentage of around 10% until 9 am.
