Loading Punjab 1980 map…
Seats by party
INC(I): 63 seats (53.8%)SAD: 37 seats (31.6%)CPI: 9 seats (7.7%)CPM: 5 seats (4.3%)IND: 2 seats (1.7%)BJP: 1 seats (0.9%)59 for a majority11759 TO GOVERN
The story

Congress back, by a slim margin

What happened

The state's government changed hands again.

The Indian National Congress (I) won 63 of the 117 seats, just past the mark needed to govern alone.

The Shiromani Akali Dal fell to second place with 37 seats.

That left the winner 4 seats clear of the threshold needed to govern alone.

What changed

The clearest shift this election ran between the state's two largest parties.

20 seats changed hands from the SAD to the INC(I), more than between any other pair that year.

That was enough on its own to swing control of the assembly.

Notable numbers

A few numbers from that count stand out.

The tightest race was Bagha Purana, Punjab, decided by just 123 votes — the margin, how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second.

Nabha, Punjab recorded the highest turnout of the election — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — at 79.0%.

Jullundur Central, Punjab drew the most crowded ballot of the election, with 14 candidates standing.

The backdrop

Independents and smaller parties also held a share of the seats after the count.

2 seats went to independents.

Ask the state

STATE INDICATORS · RBI 2024-25