Punjab's 13 Lok Sabha seats go to polls

Chandigarh, May 19 (IANS) All the 13 Lok Sabha seats of Punjab and the lone seat of its capital Chandigarh went to the polls amid tight security on Sunday in the seventh and final phase of general elections.Voters were seen across the state reaching polling stations even before the voting started at 7 a.m. in the morning."The polling started in all the booths peacefully," Chief Electoral Officer S. Karuna Raju told IANS.The main contest is between the Congress and the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).A total of 2,07,81,211 electorate would decide the fate of 278 candidates, including 24 women, in 13 constituencies.Raju said 23,213 polling stations have been established and 42,689 ballet units, 28,703 VVPATs are being used in this election.He said 394,780 first-time voters would exercise their right of franchise.In Chandigarh, there are 597 booths at 191 polling stations.The Lok Sabha seat is witnessing a triangular contest among four-time MP and Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal, 70, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sitting MP Kirron Kher, 66, and former Union Minister Harmohan Dhawan, 78, of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
--IANS vg/pgh/