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New Delhi, Feb 27 (UNI) Riding an anti-incumbency wave, the SAD-BJP combine headed for a comfortable win in Punjab while in Uttarakhand the BJP established a clear edge over the ruling Congress as counting of votes polled in the assembly elections in three states progressed today.

In the hill state of Manipur, where the results are trickling in slowly, the Congress is forging ahead of other parties with state party chief Gaikhangam being re-elected from 54 Nungba AC constituency.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal)-BJP combine forged ahead in 31 seats while the ruling Congress was leading in 16 constituencies, according to trends available for 48 seats in the Punjab assembly polls.

Prominent among those ahead were Chief Minister Amarinder Singh (Patiala) SAD chief Parkash Singh Badal(Lambi).

Former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur (SAD) lost the Bholath seat to Sukhpal Singh of the Congress by 8000 votes.

In Uttarakhand, according to trends available the BJP is inching toward a victory Congress notched up its first victory with party candidate Yashpal Arya, the Speaker in the outgoing Assembly, emerging triumphant in Mukhteshwar over the BJP's Shri Chand. Meanwhile, Congress' Vijay Bahuguna was trailing in the Tehri-Garhwal parliamentary constituency, against BJP's Manujendra Shah, the son of incumbent MP Manavendra Shah, whose death in January neccessiated the bypoll.

The main battle in Amritsar is between cricketer-turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who resigned from the seat following his conviction in a road rage death case, and state Finance Minister Surinder Singla of Congress. Sidhu was leading by 60,000 votes over Singla.

The Tehri-Garhwal parliamentary constituency bypoll trends show Manujendra Shah (BJP) leading. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of the sitting member, Manavendra Shah, on January 5. His son, Manujendra faces the Congress Vijay Bahaguna, son of the redoubtable hill leader and former UP CM, the late Hemwati Nandan Bahaguna.

UNI