By Admin 
Counting of votes for the by-election on Tarn Taran assembly seat in Punjab will take place on Friday. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are eyeing this seat.
Under the by-election, 60.95 percent voters exercised their franchise in the voting held on Tuesday on this seat. Officials said on Thursday that security arrangements have been tightened at the counting center established at the ‘International College of Nursing’ located in Piddi.
Election officer Gurmeet Singh said that the counting of votes, which will start at 8 am, will be completed in 16 rounds. This is the seventh assembly by-election in Punjab since March 2022 and the ruling AAP had won five out of the last six by-elections.
This by-election is being seen as a litmus test for Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP leaders. AAP has fielded three-time MLA from Tarn Tarn, Harmeet Singh Sandhu, who had joined the party in July.
There is also a lot at stake for the Congress party, which has fielded its Tarn Taran district unit chief Karanbir Singh Burj as its candidate for this by-election.
During the election campaign, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Wadding faced criticism from rivals for his alleged ‘casteist’ remarks against former Union Minister Buta Singh, although he later apologized.
Tarn Taran by-election: Election important for SAD also
BJP, which is trying to make inroads in the state, has fielded its Tarn Taran district president Harjeet Singh Sandhu.
Senior leaders including Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu took part in the election campaign.
This election is equally important for Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal, who campaigned vigorously for party candidate Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa.
In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, AAP currently has 93 MLAs, Congress 16, Shiromani Akali Dal three, BJP two and Bahujan Samaj Party one. One seat is with an independent.