Congress routed in Punjab's Mahja region

The Congress met its waterloo in Punjab's Majha region -- where 27 assembly seats were at stake --- failing to win a single seat. The party lost all the 20 seats it won in the 1992 assembly election from the region.

A huge 24 per cent negative swing was behind the Congress debacle. The party polled about 28 per cent votes against about 52 per cent votes in 1992. That year, Congress candidates had been runners-up in six seats. This year, Congress nominees were runners-up in 22 seats and trailed far behind in the other five seats.

The Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine won 25 of the 27 seats. Two Independents won in the Amritsar West and Fatehgarh constituencies. In Amritsar West, Om Parkash Soni defeated Om Parkash Kalia (BJP) by 12,557 votes. This seat was won by the Left with about 41 per cent of the vote in 1992.

In Fatehgarh, Nirmal Singh defeated his Congress rival Sukhvinder Singh Randhawa, son of Punjab Congress president Santokh Singh Randhawa. Sukhvinder Singh was given the ticket after it was denied to outgoing education minister Lakhmir Singh Randhawa. He lost the seat by 5,600 votes.

In 1992, this seat was won by the Congress with about 47 per cent of the vote. The BJP was the runner-up with 42 per cent of the votes.

The Akalis won 18 seats while the BJP bagged 7. In 1992, the BJP won just two seats in the region, and had been the runner-up in 13 constituencies. This time the BJP won Amritsar North, Amritsar Central, Batala, Dinanagar, Narot Mehra, Pathankot and Sujanpur.

The highest percentage -- over 74 per cent of the votes -- was recorded by the Akali Dal in the Attari seat where Gulzar Singh defeated Sardul Singh (CPI) by over 41,000 votes. The CPI candidate only won 16 per cent of the vote. In 1992, the Attari seat was won by the Congress with about 52 per cent of the vote.

In Patti, A P Singh, the son-in-law of Akali leader Parkash Singh Badal, won 71 per cent of the vote. His rival, Sukhvinder Singh (Congress) won just 16 per cent of the vote.

The Congress faced the highest negative swing -- of over 68 per cent -- in Naushehra Pannuan. Ranjit Singh (Akali Dal) polled about 72 per cent of the vote against 25 per cent polled by the Congress's Jagir Singh. The Congress won this seat in 1992 by polling 93 per cent of the vote.