CHANDIGARH: On the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya—numerous candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab filed their nomination papers. Among them, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, former Indian ambassador to the United States and BJP candidate from Amritsar, filed his nomination as well.
He was accompanied by Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Additionally, BJP candidates Ravneet Bittu from Ludhiana and Sushil Kumar Rinku from Jalandhar also filed their papers, bringing the total to 82 candidates across the state.
Earlier, Sandhu held a roadshow in Amritsar, attended by party cadres, followed by the nomination filing at the Amritsar District Administrative Complex with Jaishankar. During the roadshow, Jaishankar endorsed Sandhu as a strong candidate for BJP, expressing hope for a significant victory in Amritsar.
Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C reported that on the fourth day of nominations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 95 nominations were filed by 82 candidates for 13 Lok Sabha seats. The total nominations from May 7 to May 10 reached 163 by 143 candidates. Due to upcoming gazetted holidays on May 11 and 12, no nominations can be filed on these days.
Meanwhile, Amritpal Singh, leader of ‘Waris Punjab De’ and a pro-Khalistani, filed his nomination from the Khadoor Sahib constituency, confirmed by his lawyer. The Punjab and Haryana HC disposed of his petition seeking a temporary release to file his nomination as the Punjab government had already facilitated the process. Singh completed and signed two sets of nomination forms and other paperwork on May 9.