All arrangements made for Punjab bypoll: EC

Chandigarh  :  With campaigning coming to an end, all arrangement are in place for the smooth conduct of the May 28 bypoll to the Shahkot assembly seat, Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S. Karuna Raju said on Saturday.

He told media that the Election Commission have been completed all the arrangements in Shahkot, where 1,72,676 voters will decide the fate of 12 candidates in this constituency.

While the main contest is between the ruling Congress and opposition Shiromani Akali Dal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made it a three-cornered contest by fielding its candidate.

Over 1,000 security personnel, including Punjab Police and Border Security Force (BSF), will stand guard on polling day.

The polling will be allowed between 7 am to 6 pm.

The seat fell vacant following the death of sitting Akali Dal legislator Ajit Singh Kohar in February this year. Kohar, a former minister, was elected five times from this seat.

Congress candidate H.S. Laddi had lost to Kohar by nearly 5,000 votes in the assembly elections in February last year.

The Congress came back to power in the state in March last year after a gap of a decade.