 "Punjab polls: Channi loses Bhadaur, Chamkaur Sahib seats to AAP rivals")
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday lost the electoral battle from both the assembly seats he contested from -- Bhadaur and Chamkaur Sahib.
Channi faced a drubbing at the hands of Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) greenhorn Labh Singh Ugoke in Bhadaur seat. Ugoke won by 37,558 votes. Channi also bit the dust in Chamkaur Sahib, where he was defeated by AAP's Charanjit Singh by a margin of 7,942 votes.
Taking to Twitter, Channi said he humbly accepts the mandate of the people of Punjab.
"I humbly accept the verdict of the people of Punjab and Congratulate @AamAadmiParty and their elected CM @BhagwantMann Ji for the victory. I hope they will deliver on the expectations of people," he said.
The Congress' gamble of fielding Channi, a member of the Scheduled Caste community, from two seats failed to yield any positive results. The party's decision to replace Amarinder Singh with Channi towards the fag end of the former's five-year term to wade away anti-incumbency also came as a cropper.
According to the Election Commission website, the Congress has won 14 seats in Punjab and is leading on four. The party had contested all 117 Assembly seats in Punjab.
The AAP stormed to power in Punjab with an overwhelming majority. It won 82 seats and is leading in 10, the EC website showed.