Talwandi Sabo block samiti polls held amid SAD protest; officials refute claims

Bathinda: The chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Talwandi Sabo block samiti were elected on Tuesday amid protests by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which alleged its members were not allowed to participate in the process.AAP members Jagwinder Singh and Mehma Singh were elected chairperson and vice-chairperson, respectively.SAD functionaries claimed their elected members were stopped near the venue despite arriving before the scheduled 11am election time, alleging police had put up barricades restricting access. According to SAD leader Ravipreet Singh, of the 25-member samiti, 10 belong to SAD, nine to AAP and six to Congress. He alleged that SAD members could not take part in the election.AAP MLA Baljinder Kaur refuted the claim, stating that opposition members did not coordinate among themselves and remained absent.Bathinda deputy commissioner Rajesh Dhiman said the electoral process was completed peacefully and the returning officer, SDM Talwandi Sabo, declared the results.Senior superintendent of police Jyoti Yadav said field reports indicated that no elected member was stopped from participating and that the election was conducted in a peaceful manner.SAD has raised similar allegations during recent block samiti elections in parts of Moga, Bathinda and Mansa districts.