Despite the anti-incumbency sentiment, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal is extremely confident of an Akali-BJP victory as Punjab votes today. He said the margin will be even bigger than last time when the Akali-BJP combine had formed the government for the second time consecutively. For years, Punjab had alternated between the Akali Dal and the Congress. The Akalis in 2012 assembly elections had won 56 of state's 117 seats, and its ally the BJP had won 12, to form the government under Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
