1,304 candidates in fray for Feb 20 Punjab polls

Chandigarh, Feb 5 (IANS) A total of 1,304 candidates are in the fray for the 117-member legislative Assembly polls in Punjab slated for February 20, Chief Electoral Officer S. Karuna Raju said on Saturday.As many as 341 candidates withdrew their nomination papers on the last day of withdrawal.Raju said 2,266 candidates had filed their nomination papers. During the scrutiny, 1,645 papers were found valid.He said the highest number of candidates 19 each are in fray from Sahnewal and Patiala constituencies. The least number of five candidates are in the fray from Dinanagar.The counting of the votes will be held on March 10.In the fray are three prominent parties -- the ruling Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha, and two alliances -- the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (SAD-BSP) and the BJP-Punjab Lok Congress.
--IANS vg/skp/

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