AAP sweeps Punjab civic polls with over 950 wards; Independents spring surprise with 251 wards

CHANDIGARH: Punjab's governing AAP won 958 (48.4%) wards as municipal poll results were declared on Friday. Of 8 municipal corporations that went to polls, AAP won 5 - Mohali, Bathinda, Barnala, Moga and Batala - BJP won Abohar and Pathankot, Congress won Kapurthala.

Congress was a distant second, winning 390 wards, followed by SAD with 191 while BJP got 170. Surprisingly, independents won 251 wards to make the third largest chunk. AAP won the majority of corporations, councils and nagar panchayats with 9 months to go for assembly polls. CM Bhagwant Mann posted on X, "This is the victory of free electricity, Aam Aadmi Clinics, good schools, and transparency in jobs. Punjab has defeated divisive politics."

Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal said, "People of Punjab have applauded the work of Bhagwant Mann's govt and swept out 'ED Party'."

Except Mohali, where Aam Aadmi Party had a narrow victory, it won comprehensively in the other four municipal corporations. BJP won municipal corporations in Abohar and Pathankot and Congress in Kapurthala.

SAD, which is trying to resurrect its fortunes after crushing defeats in the 2017 and 2022 assembly elections, won in segments of the hinterland of Bathinda district but got only three of 50 wards of the corporation.

BJP's performance will cause concern to the party leadership at a time when it is aggressively trying to take the party's footprints beyond urban pockets. In Barnala corporation, hometown of new state BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon, BJP could win only six of 50 wards.

Congress state president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring congratulated party workers for putting up a "brave fight" and accused AAP of intimidating opposition candidates.