Chandigarh, May 13 : According to the latest trends, AAP candidate Sushil Rinku is leading by a substantial margin of more than 25,000 votes over his closest rival, Congress nominee Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll. Out of the 8.87 lakh votes cast, over 4.15 lakh votes have been counted so far, as per the Election Commission website.

The trends indicate that Rinku has received 1,38,493 votes, while Karamjit Kaur has secured 1,13,164 votes, giving Rinku a lead of 25,329 votes. Celebrations erupted among Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters, who expressed confidence in their candidate’s victory.

In the race for the seat, BJP candidate Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal occupied the third position, with Shiromani Akali Dal’s Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, backed by the BSP, trailing in fourth place, as per the website.

The bypoll was necessitated by the unfortunate demise of Karamjit Kaur’s husband and former Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in January. A total of 19 candidates contested the bypoll, which recorded a voter turnout of 54.70%, significantly lower than the 63.04% recorded in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.