As the political arena heats up for the battle of 2024, all eyes are fixated on the forthcoming candidature lists. It’s essential to rewind and delve into the past political showdowns that have left us on the edge of our seats with some nail-biting contests and surprising outcomes.
Patiala, a stronghold traditionally associated with the royal family and congress. Patiala is one of the 13 prominent Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab. It consists of a total of 8 Vidhan Sabha constituencies. As per the 2011 census, the population of Patiala is over 19 lakh. Since elections are around the corner, let’s take a look at the political prospects of Patiala in past 20 years.
From 2004 to 2024, the Patiala Lok Sabha seat was held for total of 3 terms by Preneet Kaur on the ticket of Congress however the political landscape is expected to shift as the leader has left Congress and joined Bhartiya Janta Party. The state will go under poll on June 1 and results will be out on June 4, 2024.
About 2024 elections
Punjab will vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on June 1, 2024. winds of change have swept through, altering the political landscape dramatically. The loyalty of the royals now lies firmly with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). With Captain Amarinder Singh, the erstwhile Congress stalwart, steering his ship toward the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections in 2022, and his wife, Preneet Kaur, following suit as the Lok Sabha elections of 2024 loom closer, the BJP has strategically captured the political ‘King and Queen’ of Patiala on the chessboard.
Though BJP has not released its official list of candidates for Punjab, it is likely that Preneet Kaur once again will be fielded on the Patiala list.
As far as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party is concerned, AAP has announced the name of the sitting cabinet minister Dr Balbir Singh on the Patiala seat. He won the Vidhan Sabha election from Patiala seat in 2022.
Other main parties of Punjab, namely Shiromani Akali Dal and Indian National Congress are yet to disclose their cards.
Let’s take a detailed look at the past Lok Sabha elections of Patiala
2019
In 2019, Preneet Kaur, wife of then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh won the election on the ticket of Congress. Preneet Kaur won the election by securing 5 Lakh 32 thousand 27 votes which accounts for nearly 45 percent of the vote share. Her rival Surjit Singh of Shiromani Akali Dal managed to get 3 lakh 69 thousand 309 votes which is 31.35 percent of the vote share. Other prime contesters were Dharam Vira Gandhi an independent candidate who got 1 lakh 61 thousand 645 votes whereas Neena Mittal of AAP got votes over 50 thousand.
2014
In 2014, the Patiala Lok Sabha seat was won by Dharam Veer Gandhi of the Aam Aadmi Party. He won the seat which was earlier held by Preneet Kaur by a thin margin of 20 thousand votes. As per the 2014 mandate, Dharam Veer Gandhi of AAP secured 3,65,671 votes whereas Preneet Kaur of Congress managed to get 3,44,729.
A huge drop of 19 percent was shown in the vote share of Preneet in comparison to the previous election of 2009. Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Deepinder Singh Dhillon got 3,40,109 votes just 4 thousand fewer votes than Preneet Kaur and 25 thousand less votes than the winning candidate of AAP.
2009
In 2009, Preneet Kaur of the Indian National Congress became victorious by winning 4,74,188 votes which accounts for 50.6 percent of the vote share. She defeated Prem Singh Chandumajra of Shiromani Akali Dal by a huge margin of over 97 thousand votes. Deepak Joshi of BSP managed to get 57,839 votes in the 2009 elections.
2004
In 2004, Indian National Congress Preneet Kaur emerged victorious by securing 4,09,917 votes. Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Kanwaljit Singh stood second with a total of 3,86,250 votes. He lost by a margin of 23,667 votes.
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