Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C: Due to non-submission of election expenses, 2 candidates each from Malerkotla and Fazilka districts and 3 candidates from Mansa district will not be eligible to contest elections for the next 3 years.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has disqualified seven candidates, contested the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, through various orders. Divulging the details, Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C stated that these candidates have not submitted their election expenses as per section 78 of Representation of the People Act, 1951 to the commission within the specified timeframe , thus rendering them ineligible to contest elections for the next 3 years under Section 10 A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
He said that these seven candidates include two candidates each from Malerkotla and Fazilka districts and three candidates from Mansa district. Jiwan Das Bawa, Tarunveer Singh Ahluwalia and Vaid Balwant, who all contested from Mansa assembly seat, have been disqualified by an order issued by the Election Commission of India on February 15, 2024.
Similarly, by the order dated January 24, 2024, Baljit Singh, who contested from Jalalabad assembly seat in Fazilka district, and Prithi Ram Megh, who contested from Balluana assembly seat, have also been disqualified.
Sibin C further stated that as per order dated January 29, 2024, Dharminder Singh and Satvir Singh Sheera Banbhaura, candidates from Malerkotla and Amargarh seats respectively, have also been declared ineligible to contest elections for the next 3 years.