Punjab Assembly Elections 2022: 34.10% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm

Both had turned 18 last year and voted for the first time. The conjoined twins said they are extremely happy as both were able to exercise their voting rights.

Officials said the conjoined twins were treated as two separate voters and special arrangements were made for them so that both could maintain secrecy of their votes. Dressed in her bridal wear, a young woman first went to cast her vote at a village in Zirakpur on the outskirts of Chandigarh, before performing marriage rituals while a bridegroom in Rupnagar cast his vote first before getting married.

At the women-managed pink polling booths in the state, enthusiasm was seen among the voters, especially those voting for the first time. There are 196 pink polling stations for women while 70 polling stations are being managed by persons with disabilities (PwD).

Amritsar recorded a voting percentage of 30.23 percent till 1 pm, Barnala 37.26 percent, Bathinda 38.75 percent, Fatehgarh Sahib 37.13 percent, Fazilka 40.59 percent, Ferozepur 37.97 percent, Malerkotla 39.78 percent,  and Muktsar 39.61 percent. Those who voted so far included former chief minister and SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal (94), the oldest candidate in the fray, ministers Manpreet Singh Badal, Pargat Singh, and Vijay Inder Singla, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa and Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma.

AAP's chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann exercised his franchise in Mohali. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal also cast their votes. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal also cast their votes.

Sukhbir Badal himself drove a vehicle and brought the family to cast their votes in Muktsar. AAP leader Raghav Chadha in his tweets alleged that at a polling booth in Guruharsahai, a sarpanch tried to influence voters. He claimed that some EVMs had malfunctioned at Sanaour, Attari and Majitha.

People are being given masks, gloves and hands sanitised at the polling booths before casting their votes. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal appealed to voters to exercise their right to franchise.

In the morning, Charanjit Singh Channi paid obeisance at religious places at his home constituency Chamkaur Sahib. After casting his vote, Parkash Singh Badal said, "I am happy that our democracy is very strong. I will continue to serve my people till my last breath.

The Badal family exuded confidence of winning the elections. Former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said she will urge every single voter to vote. Harsimrat said, There is going to be a clean sweep in favour of a tried and tested regional party that understands the aspiration of the people. In Patiala, former chief minister Amarinder Singh also exuded confidence of his victory.

Asked how big the challenge in these elections was, Amarinder said, Not much. We will win. Amarinder Singh's wife Preneet Kaur and daughter Jai Inder Kaur exuded confidence that the former CM will win.

I always supported Captain sahib (Amarinder). It is my family and my family is above everything, said Preneet Kaur, who is the Congress MP. Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu in Amritsar expressed hope that people will come out in large numbers for casting their votes.

A total of 2,14,99,804 people, including 1,02,00,996 women, are eligible to vote. There are 24,740 polling stations, of which 2,013 have been identified as critical while 2,952 are vulnerable, said Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju.