Chandigarh, February 5: The polling for Punjab Assembly Elections 2022 will be held in a single phase on February 20. The votes will be counted on March 10, and the Punjab Assembly Results 2022 will be declared on the same day. There are a total of 117 seats in Punjab. This time, the state will witness a multi-cornered contest. The ruling party, the Congress, will face a tough contest from the Shrimoni Akali Dal (SAD) – Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) alliance, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) alliance. Punjab Assembly Elections 2022: A Look Back at The Polling, Alliances And Results of 2017 Election Ahead of Vidhan Sabha Polls.

There will be several high-octane electoral battles during the Punjab Assembly Elections 2022. All eyes will be on the fierce contest between SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia and the state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu from Amritsar East. Other prominent leaders contesting the elections are – Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, former state CM Captain Amarinder Singh, AAP CM candidate Bhagwant Mann, SAD chief Sukhbir Badal and SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal. Punjab Assembly Elections 2022: From Amritsar East To Lambi Vidhan Sabha Seat; Here Are Seven Key Constituencies.

Here Are Key Electoral Battles:

Bikram Singh Majithia Vs Navjot Singh Sidhu: Sidhu will take on Majithia from the Amritsar East assembly constituency. After the Punjab Congress chief's challenge, Majithia decided to contest from this assembly, leaving his constituency leaving his bastion, Maitha.

Captain Amarinder Singh vs Vishnu Sharma: Former Punjab CM and PLC chief Captain Amarinder Singh is contesting from his home turf, Patiala Urban, against former Patiala mayor Vishnu Sharma. Notably, the AAP also has the ticket to Ajitpal Singh Kohli, who is also an ex-mayor of the city.

Bhagwant Man Vs Dalvir Singh Goldy: Mann is contesting from the Dhuri assembly constituency. He will face tough competition from sitting Congress MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy. Recently, Mann was declared as the AAP CM candidate.

Charanjit Singh Channi Vs Darshan Singh Shivjot: Channi is contesting the state assembly polls from two seats – Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur. From Chamkaur Sahib, the Punjab CM was contesting against BJP'sBJP's Darshan Singh Shivjot. The APP has fielded Dr. Charanjit from Chamkaur Sahib.

Parkash Singh Badal Vs Jagpal Singh Khurana: Former Punjab CM and SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal is contesting the Punjab Assembly elections 2022 from the Lambi Vidhan Sabha seat against Jagpal Singh Khurana of the Congress. The APP has given the ticket to Gurmeet Singh Khuddian from this constituency. At 94 years, the 11-time MLA is the oldest candidate to contest elections.

Sukhbir Singh Badal Vs Mohan Singh Phallianwala: SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal is contesting from the Jalalabad assembly constituency against Mohan Singh Phallianwala of the Congress. He is the two-time MLA from this constituency.

Ganieve Kaur Vs Jagwinder Pal Singh: After Majithia decided to contest only from Amritsar East constituency against Sidhu, his wife Ganieve Kaur is contesting from his home turf, Majitha against Jagwinder Pal Singh of the Congress.

The ruling party Congress will announce the name of the CM candidate on February 6. There are reports of infighting in the Congress. In an apparent dig at the Congress top leadership, Punjab unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday said that the "people at the top" want a weak Chief Minister who can dance to their tunes. Meanwhile, other political parties in the fray are trying to take advantage of the power tussle within the Congress.

In the 2017 elections, the Congress won 77 seats, the SAD bagged 15 seats. The AAP emerged as the second-largest party with 20 seats. Only three seats were won by the BJP.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 05, 2022 06:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).