Amid clashes and arrest of a ruling AAP legislator, nearly 50 per cent of the 16.21 lakh electorate on Wednesday cast votes to decide the fate of 19 candidates in the fray for Jalandhar (reserved) parliamentary constituency, which witnessed a four-cornered fierce contest in the Dalit-dominated Doaba region, traditionally a Congress bastion.
A curtain raiser to 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Jalandhar by-polls would not only decide the fate of AAP, Congress, BJP and the SAD-BSP alliance, but also the tone of campaigns that lie ahead.