Only two of the eight party-hoppers who had switched sides in the last over couple of months could secure victory on the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.  The two victorious turncoats are AAPs Raj Kumar Chabbewal and Congress partys Dharamvira Gandhi. Chabbewal, who was the deputy leader of the opposition in the assembly, had joined the AAP in March this year. And later he was fielded from the Hoshiarpur seat. He defeated Congress partys Yamini Gomar from the Hoshiarpur constituency.  Gandhi, a former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP, joined the Congress in April. He trounced AAPs Balbir Singh by a margin of over 14,000 votes from the Patiala constituency. After quitting the AAP in 2016, Gandhi had formed his own political outfit Nawan Punjab Party, which he merged with the Congress when he joined it.    The party-hoppers, who finished second in the elections, were BJPs Sushil Rinku, Ravneet Singh Bittu and AAPs Gurpreet Singh GP.   Rinku, who contested from Jalandhar, had joined the BJP after quitting the AAP. Last year ahead of the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypolls, he had quit the Congress to join the AAP.  Bittu, a three-time MP of the Congress, joined the BJP after quitting the grand old party in March. He faced defeat from the Ludhiana seat.  Gurpreet Singh GP, former Congress MLA, joined the AAP before the Lok Sabha polls.   Four-time MP Preneet Kaur left the Congress to join the BJP. However, she was defeated from her pocket borough Patiala.  Other turncoats who could not win the election included AAPs Pawan Kumar Tinu and Shiromani Akali Dals Mohinder Singh Kaypee.     Meanwhile, of the 13 MPs in Punjab, eight are first-time MPs.  They are AAPs Malvinder Singh Kang (Anandpur Sahib), Raj Kumar Chabbewal (Hoshiarpur), Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer (Sangrur), Congress partys Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa (Gurdaspur), Charanjit Singh Channi (Jalandhar), Amrinder Singh Raja Warring (Ludhiana) and Independents Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa (Faridkot) and Amritpal Singh (Khadoor Sahib).  Apart from this, only a single woman from Punjab made it to Parliament in the Lok Sabha polls. Shiromani Akali Dals Harsimrat Kaur Badal won from the Bathinda parliamentary constituency. Among 328 candidates, 26 women were in the fray.  The Congress dealt a body blow to the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP and SAD, winning seven of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the high-stakes polls in Punjab even as two Independents registered a surprise victory. While the Aam Aadmi Party clinched three seats, the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal could win only one seat and the BJP drew a blank in the border state.     Two suspected drug smugglers held nearly Rs 2 crore in cash recovered in Amritsar Chandigarh: Two suspected drug smugglers were arrested and nearly Rs 2 crore in cash was recovered in a search operation in Amritsar, a BSF spokesperson said on Wednesday. According to the spokesperson, the operation was carried out jointly by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Punjab Police at the house of the suspected drug smugglers in Kakkar village in Amritsar on Tuesday evening.  "The operation resulted in the apprehension of two suspects and recovery of Rs 1,97,14,650, along with a laptop, three smartphones, and two keypad mobile phones from the premises," the BSF spokesperson said. Further investigations are underway, the spokesperson said. Thankful to PEOPLE in Gurgaon who voted for me: Raj Babbar Gurugram: Congress candidate Raj Babbar failed to win the Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat but managed to give the BJPs winning candidate Rao Inderjit Singh a tough fight. Despite being a debutant in Haryana politics actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar managed to get 7,33,257 votes while Rao Inderjit Singh secured 8,08,336 votes. Raj Babbar while addressing a press conference thanked the people of the constituency. "First of all, I would like to thank the voters of the constituency and over 7 lakh families who have faith in me and cast their votes for Congress. The people want their basic issues to be addressed and their representatives to be more available and attentive. I will remain in the constituency and will make all possible efforts to address peoples demands, said Babbar.  Chandigarh MC distributes Tulsi plants on World Environment Day Chandigarh: To encourage the community to keep their surroundings green, the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh (MCC) launched a new initiative by distributing Tulsi (Basil) plants at the Rose Horticulture Nursery in Sector 23. This initiative aims to encourage citizens to purchase and plant trees from the MCC nursery at subsidized prices. Mayor Kuldeep Kumar and Municipal Commissioner Anindita Mitra, distributed Tulsi plants to the citizens of the city to mark World Environment Day under the "Swachhata Ki Mohar" initiative. The Mayor said that the Municipal Corporation has demonstrated its strong commitment to enhancing the citys green cover by successfully exceeding its tree and shrub plantation targets for the financial year 2023-24. The MCC had set a target of planting 54,398 plants, including 6,025 trees and 48,370 shrubs, but exceeded this target by planting a total of 72,864 plants, including 6,784 trees and 66,080 shrubs across the city. Mitra emphasized that it is high time we take proactive measures to save our environment and land for the future. She said that each citizen must take ownership of attaining a zero-waste lifestyle by segregating waste properly, conserving water, adopting home composting, eliminating single-use plastics, and encouraging the entire community to do the same. World Environment Day: Veneration of "Pran Vayu Devta" Trees across Haryana Chandigarh: On the occasion of World Environment Day, the Forest Department, Haryana organized a unique and heartwarming celebration focused on the reverence of nature. The event centred around the veneration of "Pran Vayu Devta," venerable trees exceeding 75 years of age. The Haryana Forest Department celebrated World Environment Day at Bhondsi, district Gurugram. During this Paranvayu Devta trees were worshipped. The ceremony was attended by APCCF (South) Anant Prakash Pandey, DFO Gurugram and Rajeev Tejyan. Representatives from the local community, along with forest officials, also participated in the ceremony. In Gurugram, Anant Praksh Pandey, APCCF (South) along with Rajeev Tejyan, DFO Gurugram participated in the veneration ceremony of Pran Vayu Devta trees at Bhondsi. Forest officials, along with representatives from the local community participated in the rituals. Meteorological Department warns of continued high temperatures and heat waves in coming days in Hry Chandigarh: The Meteorological Department has warned of continued high temperatures and heat waves in coming days in the state. The temperature in the state is continuously rising, and heat waves are also occurring, causing inconvenience to the citizens. A government spokesperson from the health department has informed that special precautions must be taken to prevent the effects of the heat wave. He urged citizens to take special care of young children and the elderly. He mentioned that the meteorological department has predicted extremely high temperatures and the possibility of heat waves in the coming days. In this regard, the health department has issued an advisory, according to which citizens need to take special precautions to protect themselves. Citizens should avoid consuming tea, coffee, and carbonated soft drinks that lead to dehydration. They should avoid consuming high-protein and stale foods. Recognize the signs of heat-related illnesses like weakness, dizziness, headaches, and seizures. If you feel unwell, see a doctor immediately, he added.

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