Saffron sweeps north but no Modi mojo in Punjab
Friday, 24/05/2019
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CHANDIGARH:The Narendra Modi wave virtually swept the northern states before losing steam in Punjab on Thursday.
The BJP-led NDA, which retained power with a thumping triumph, bagged 22 of the 34 Lok Sabha seats in the region, making a clean sweep in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. In these two states where it is in power, the saffron party handed out a numbing blow to the Congress. It also bagged three of the six constituencies in J&K.
But, the party failed to make much headway in Punjab where the Congress led by Capt Amarinder Singh bucked the trend to win eight of the 13 seats, up from three in the 2014 parliamentary polls. Most of the Congress candidates, including CM’s wife Preneet Kaur, romped home with handsome margins.
The SAD-BJP alliance won two constituencies each, down from their total tally of six seats in the previous elections. SAD president Sukhbir Badal won from Ferozepur and his wife Harsimrat Badal barely scraped through in Bathinda. The AAP,
which had stunned everyone by winning four seats on debut five years ago, got just one seat.
In Haryana, the BJP decimated the Congress with just four months to go for the state assembly elections.
Of its 13 candidates, eight won their seats with margins above 3 lakh votes.
Two-time former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son Deepender Singh Hooda were defeated in Sonepat and Rohtak, respectively.
The BJP did a 2014 encore in HP by taking all four seats. In J&K, the PDP was wiped out as the BJP and National Conference won three seats each.
