Punjab Assembly elections 2017: All you need to know

All eyes will be on the close contests between Sidhu, Amarinder Singh and the Badals.

Chandigarh, Jan 16: The environment in Punjab is electrifying and the state is all geared up for the upcoming Assembly elections. All these there it used to be a close contest between SAD-BJP and Congress. However, this year things changed after AAP declared to contest the polls in the state.

With big leaders such as Capt Amarinder Singh, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Parkash Singh Badal and AAP's Bhagwant Mann, this political fight is surely to fire up the contest. The election in the state will be held on February 4 in a single phase across 117 Assembly seats. The results will be announced on March 11.

Here are some more details about the upcoming elections in the state:

How Punjab fared in 2012 Assembly poll:

Total seat- 117

Partywise seats:

• Congress won 46 seats
• BJP won 12 seats
• SAD won 56 seats
• Others won 3 seats

SAD-BJP alliance then went on to form the government with Parkash Singh Badal as their chief minister.

Star campaigners in Punjab:

With Navjot Singh Sidhu joining Congress, the party is likely to ride high on Sidhu's popularity. With Sidhu's induction into the party, Congress will be looking to overthrow the BJP-SAD government. Capt. Amarinder Singh, Congress chief of the state is also a well-known face here. BJP, on the other hand, alongwith SAD will try to replicate its 2012 success.

AAP meanwhile, is trying its best to make inroads in the state. The party will be looking to replicate its Delhi success here. With rigorous campaigning and rallies, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders are yet to come up with their chief ministerial candidate.

Issues that will dominate the polls:

Demonetisation, drug menace, farmers suicide are some of the issues that will be discussed by parties while they campaign in the state. While Congress will be looking to attack the SAD-BJP over farmers suicide and demonetisation, AAP will target both the Congress and the BJP.

OneIndia News