Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar wins Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll

GURDASPUR (INDIA):Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar today won the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll by defeating his nearest rival, BJP nominee Swaran Salaria with a margin of 1,93,219 votes.nnPoliticalMirror and NationalPoliticalMirror editor Sanjeeb Kumar Sahoo has already predicated that  Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar is going to win the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll.nnJakhar polled 4,99,752 votes while Salaria polled 3,06,533, poll official said.nnAam Aadmi Party nominee Major General (Retd) Suresh Khajuria was at the third sport with 23,579 votes.nnThe seat had fallen vacant after the death of BJP MP Vinod Khanna in April this year.nnThe Congress won this seat after the 2009 Lok Sabha poll when Congress candidate Partap Singh Bajwa had won this seat by defeating BJP candidate Vinod Khanna.nnKhanna was four-time MP from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat.nnThe actor had won this seat in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014.nnAn elated Jakhar thanked voters for the resounding victory in the bypoll.nn”With this victory, people have reaffirmed faith in the leadership of Amarinder Singh,” said Jakhar.nn”This is a victory for the Congress and Capt Amarinder Singh,” he said.nnCongratulating Jakhar, the Punjab chief minister said it is a victory for the development agenda.nn”Congratulations to @sunilkjakhar ji for his impressive win in #Gurdaspur bypoll, it’s a victory for @INCPunjab policies & development agenda,” Amarinder tweeted.nnAfter the trends suggesting massive lead for Congress, party workers assembled at the party office in Chandigarh and started distributing sweets and danced.nnTalking to reporters, state cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said, “We have sent a beautiful Diwali gift packed with red ribbon to our would-be President Rahul Gandhi because it sets the tone…It will be a shot in the arm for the Congress.”nn”This (victory) is a big slap on the face of ‘jija -saala’ (SAD chief Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia).nnToday BJP will realise that Akali Dal in Punjab has become a burden. Time and again people have reprimanded them. It will be demoralising and send them (SAD-BJP) packing,” said Sidhu.nnBoth the BJP and the AAP accused the Congress of misusing official machinery to win the bypoll.nnPunjab BJP Secretary Vineet Joshi alleged that the Congress misused the official machinery in the bypollnnAAP candidate Maj. Gen. (Retd) Suresh Khajuria also accused the Congress of using “undemocratic means” in the bypoll.nn”Ruling party used undemocratic means in these elections. People were scared and youth was almost absent in the bypoll. If they (Congress) win then that victory will not be a respectable one,” Khajuria alleged.nn nnWith inputs of Press Trust of India