Ex-Rajouri Garden MLA Jarnail Singh loses in Lambi

Jarnail Singh, who had resigned as MLA from Rajouri Garden amid predictions of his victory in Punjab Assembly elections, received a setback as he was declared defeated in the results announced on Saturday. The leader had hit the headlines when he announced his resignation from the seat for fighting against the then Chief Minister of Punjab Prakash Singh Badal.

On Thursday last, after his resignation from the Delhi Assembly to contest in Punjab Assembly polls, the Election Commission announced the bypoll date for the vacant seat to take place on April 9.

The byelection will be a big contest for all the three political parties — BJP, Congress and AAP — as it may set the course of 2017 municipal polls, which is also scheduled at the end of April.

Singh had sent his resignation from the post of MLA to Speaker Ram Niwas Goel to contest elections in Punjab. Singh recently contested in a three-corner contest in Punjab's Lambi constituency in the assembly elections on February 4. He faced incumbent Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh there. This is not the first time though Singh has been in the news.

In April 2009, then a journalist with a national daily, Singh had hurled a shoe at P Chidambaram, who was then Home Minister, in protest against his remarks on the clean chit to Congress leaders in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.