MC polls: Flop show by PPP, Left

The People's Party of Punjab (PPP) and its allies, the CPI and the CPM, came a cropper in Sunday's municipal corporation elections in Punjab.The PPP won only one of the total 13 seats it contested in Jalandhar and drew a blank in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Patiala, where it fought for 13, 18 and 18 seats, respectively.

The People's Party of Punjab (PPP) and its allies, the CPI and the CPM, came a cropper in Sunday's municipal corporation elections in Punjab.

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The PPP won only one of the total 13 seats it contested in Jalandhar and drew a blank in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Patiala, where it contested 13, 18 and 18 seats, respectively.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) bagged two seats of the 24 it contested in Amritsar. It drew a blank in Ludhiana and Patiala (the party did not contest from any seat in Jalandhar).

After the debacle in the January 30 assembly polls, PPP president Manpreet Singh Badal had vowed to continue his political fight against the ruling Akali-BJP coalition in the corporation elections. On Sunday, he did not issue any statement after the results.

Punjab CPI secretary Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal blamed the "highhandedness and partial role of the state administration" for the loss of not only the Third Front parties but also of the Congress in these elections.

"I was in Patiala, and it was so embarrassing as to how the Akali cadres were polling fake votes," Dhaliwal said.