Punjab polls: BJP to contest on 65 seats, ally Captain Amarinder Singh's PLC gets 37

Punjab polls: Bharatiya Janata Party will contest on 65 seats in Punjab, while its ally, Captain Amarinder Singh-led PLC will fight on 37. The seat-sharing was announced by BJP chief JP Nadda in Punjab. "Punjab is border state and security is very important issue as far as assembly elections are concerned," JP Nadda said during the press conference.

Earlier on Sunday, Amarinder Singh announced his decision to fight from his home constituency of Patiala Urban. His party released the first list of 22 candidates for polls. Meanwhile, BJP has also announced its first list of 34 candidates for the Punjab assembly polls.

Punjab will go to the polls on February 20. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. In the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, Congress won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the SAD-BJP government after 10 years. Aam Aadmi Party emerged as the second-largest party winning 20 seats in 117-member Punjab Legislative Assembly.

The SAD could only manage to win 15 seats while the BJP secured 3 seats.