Campaigning for Feb 4 Assembly elections ends in Punjab and Goa

02 February, New Delhi

The high-voltage campaign for the assembly elections in Punjab and Goa came to an end this evening with political parties asking their cadres to resort to door-to-door campaign to woo the voters.

The two states will go to polls on Saturday to elect new assemblies. Voting for all 117 assembly seats in Punjab and that of 40 in Goa will be held in a single phase on 4th February.

In Punjab, SAD-BJP combine is up against Congress and Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party which is fighting state polls for the first time. AAP is contesting assembly elections in both the states, where BJP and Congress have been traditional political rivals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Manohar Parrikar were among those campaigned for candidates belonging to BJP and its allies in the two states.

For SAD, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal campaigned extensively in favour the ruling combine in the state.For Congress, Vice President Rahul Gandhi led the campaign from the front in the two states, while Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was among the star campaigners for Aam Aadmi Party in both Punjab and Goa. Others AAP leaders who participated in campaign for the party include Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Bhagwant Mann.

After initial dithering, Rahul Gandhi declared former CM Amarinder Singh as Congress’ chief ministerial face.BSP Chief Mayawati also addressed a number of rallies for her party candidates in Punjab. In Goa, BJP has not projected incumbent Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar as chief ministerial face and has often hinted at the return of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as CM.