E-Paper
MC polls: Amritsar goes to Congress, AAP wrests Patiala
Aam Aadmi Party emerges as the single-largest party in Ludhiana and Jalandhar; Congress a whisker away from majority in Phagwara; BJP, SAD fail to bag even a single civic body
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 26 out of 44 municipal councils and nagar panchayats and one of the five municipal corporations, the polls for which were held on Saturday. Though AAP has clearly won the Patiala municipal corporation, it emerged single largest party in Ludhiana — the biggest corporation of Punjab, and Jalandhar, but it finished second behind the Congress in Amritsar and Phagwara. Phagwara has a hung house whereas Amritsar voters chose to go with Congress that bagged 43 out of 85 seats, leaving AAP with 24, BJP nine and SAD four and independents with five. In the past, traditionally the ruling party has won all major civic bodies in the state.
The BJP, which had got considerable votes in urban areas in the Lok Sabha polls this year, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) couldn’t win even a single civic body. The biggest setback to the ruling AAP came from Ludhiana where the wives to two AAP MLAs Gurpreet Gogi and Ashok Prashar Pappi lost. Similary, the wife of former Congress minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu lost in Ludhiana. AAP bagged 41 Ludhiana seats, falling seven short of majority in the 95-member house. The Congress got 30, BJP 19, SAD 2 and independent won 3 seats.
In Patiala, out of the house of 60 seats, the AAP won 43 out of the 53 seats for which the polling was held. The election to seven MC wards has been postponed. The Congress and the BJP won four seats each while the SAD secured two seats. In the last elections, the Congress had won 59 out of 60 seats.
In Jalandhar, AAP secured victory in 39 of 85 wards while the Congress remained victorious in 23. The BJP registered victory in 20 wards. Two wards went to independent candidates and one to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). In the previous elections, the Congress had its mayor with victory in 66 wards.
In Phagwara, the Congress got the better of the ruling AAP and other opponents. Of 50 wards, the Congress stamped victory on 22 seats, while the AAP managed to win 12 wards. The BJP clinched four wards while both SAD and BSP remained victorious in three wards each.
In the municipal committees and nagar panchayats, the AAP has won 26 out of 44 civic bodies. The Congress has won three. In five civic bodies, independent candidates emerged as winners in most of seats. The BJP and SAD failed to win a single civic body. Results of 10 civic bodies was underway till the filing of this report.
The polling began at 7 am and continued till 4 pm amid tight security arrangements. The average turnout was 60%. Patiala and Ludhiana saw some clashes.
Over 3,300 candidates were in the fray with 3,809 polling booths being set up to facilitate voting for 37.32 lakh voters, including 17.75 lakh women. The polling was conducted using electronic voting machines.
