The single-phase elections in the two states sees a high-octane three-way battle between the BJP, Congress and a debutante Aam Aadmi Party. Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was among the first to cast his vote in Goa, could make a return to state politics after BJP chief Amit Shah said at a rally that the new government would work under the leadership of Mr Parrikar, should the BJP retain power in the Goa. Meanwhile, in Punjab, the Badal family voted in patriarch Parkash Singh Badal’s Lambi constituency.
Punjab witnesses intense competition in Lambi – where incumbent Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will face his predecessor Amarinder Singh – and the Jalalabad seat, where AAP MP Bhagwant Mann seeks to dethrone Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. Former BJP MP and newly-inducted Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu will contest from Amritsar East whereas Amarinder Singh will also face former Army chief General JJ Singh in Patiala
