Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], May 13 : Leader of Opposition Pratap Singh Bajwa on Saturday said his party conceded defeat in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll and has vowed to come back stronger in the 2024 polls.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, the Punjab congress leader wrote, "We humbly accept the verdict of the people of Jalandhar. I thank all the @INCPunjab leaders and workers for putting a united show and fighting the election till the very end. Congratulations to @AAPPunjab and Sushil Rinku on the victory. We will come back stronger in 2024 LS Polls".
The Aam Aadmi Party candidate on Saturday won the bypoll from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency which was considered a Congress stronghold for the past 24 years.
AAP candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku, a former Congress MLA defeated his closest rival, Congress's Karamjit Kaur by a margin of over 58,000 votes, as per the Election Commission of India.
Rinku has polled 3,02,279 votes, while Chaudhary has secured 2,43,588 votes. BJP nominee Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal was at the third spot, while Shirom Akali Dal candidate Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, who is also backed by the Mayawati-led BSP, was at the fourth spot.
The bypoll, voting for which was held on May 10, was necessitated following the death of Karamjit Kaur's husband and Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary on January 14 this year following a cardiac arrest while taking part in the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Nineteen candidates contested the bypoll, which recorded a voter turnout of 54.70 per cent. The turnout was well below the 63.04 per cent recorded in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Shirom Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said his party "accepted the mandate with humility".
"We thank the voters of #Jalandhar and accept the mandate with humility in the true democratic traditions of our party. We congratulate the winner Sushil Kumar Rinku & @AamAadmiParty and hope that they will live up to the voters' expectations," Badal tweeted.
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