Chandigarh: Jailed radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who is in the fray from the Khadoor Sahib seat in Punjab as an Independent candidate, was allotted the mike as the poll symbol.
In all, 328 nominees applied for election symbols, out of them, 169 Independent contestants have been allocated poll symbols. It may be recalled that Amritpal, the chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit, is languishing in the Dibrugarh jail of Assam under the National Security Act.
Similarly, Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, who is contesting from the Faridkot (reserve) constituency as an Independent, has been allotted the poll symbol of 'Ganna Kisan' (sugarcane farmer). Khalsa is the son of Beant Singh, who was one of the assassins of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, who were Indira Gandhi's bodyguards, assassinated her on October 31, 1984, at her residence. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sibin C disclosed on Sunday that 328 candidates locking horns for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab were allocated poll symbols by the district election officers as per the directive of the Election Commission of India.
Election symbols allotted to Independent candidates included harmonium, dumbbells, apple, tongs, hockey and ball, stool, ship, gas cylinder, battery torch, almirah, computer, batsman, bat, truck, cot, cauliflower, petrol pump, television, laptop, auto-rickshaw, pressure cooker, plastering trowel, flute, diamond, road roller, letterbox, chimney and sewing machine.
The Punjab CEO said 26 nominees, including 14 Independents, are contesting from Gurdaspur, 18 Independents out of 30 contestants in Amritsar, and 18 Independents out of 27 candidates in the Khadoor Sahib seat.
Out of 20 candidates in Jalandhar, eight are Independents while there are four Independents out of 16 candidates in Hoshiarpur.
In Anandpur Sahib, there are 13 Independents out of a total of 28 candidates, and there are 26 Independents out of 43 candidates in Ludhiana. In Fatehgarh Sahib, out of a total of 14 candidates, seven are Independents and of a total of 28 candidates in Faridkot, 12 are Independents.
In all, 29 candidates, including 17 independents, are contesting from Ferozepur. Of 18 candidates in Bathinda, eight are Independents and of 23 candidates in Sangrur, nine are Independents. There are 15 Independents out of 26 candidates contesting in Patiala. Polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1.
Read more: Jailed Waris Punjab Chief Amritpal Singh's Nomination Accepted From Khadoor Sahib LS Seat
