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Punjab municipal polls: AAP releases list of 784 candidates
The elections to 977 wards across five municipal corporations – Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Phagwara – and 44 municipal councils and nagar panchayats are slated for December 21.
With just a day left for filing of nominations, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday released its first list of 784 candidates for the upcoming municipal elections in the state.
AAP state chief Aman Arora and state working president Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi announced the names a day after chief minister Bhagwant Mann chaired a meeting of cabinet ministers, MLAs, state and district office bearers and screening committee members.
The elections to 977 wards across five municipal corporations – Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Phagwara – and 44 municipal councils and nagar panchayats are slated for December 21.
The AAP’s first list included 94 wards of Ludhiana, 56 wards of Patiala and 74 wards of Amritsar. Later in the evening, it finalised candidates for 83 out of the total 85 wards in Jalandhar. The party had released its Jalandhar list for 72 seats in the afternoon but had to recall it after rift over ticket allocation in six wards.
“The names of party candidates for the remaining wards are under discussion. These discussions are expected to conclude by this evening,” the state unit chief said.
He said the party received 5,000 applications for 977 municipal wards with as many as 15-20 applications in some seats. “Screening committees, comprising party leaders, MLAs, and office-bearers, were set up at the zonal and district-levels to ensure fair selection based on feedback from workers and volunteers. The process also involved consultations with district in-charges, Lok Sabha in-charges, and local leaders to ensure inclusivity and consensus,” he said, explaining the selection process. The party leadership has decided to seek support from people of urban areas by highlighting the state government’s welfare schemes and achievements, including free electricity to domestic category consumers, Aam Aadmi Clinics quality education and government jobs, over the past more than two-and-a-half years, a party leader said.
SAD announces 65 candidates for civic body polls
Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday released a list of 65 candidates for the upcoming municipal elections in the state. The last day of filing nominations is Thursday. Party vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema said candidates for the remaining seats will be named on Thursday. He added that all candidates will contest on the party symbol ‘scales’.
Two file papers for Bathinda MC bypoll
The ward has been lying vacant since 2022 after the then councillor Jagroop Singh Gill was elected as a legislator of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from the Bathinda urban seat.
Nomination filing will end on Thursday. SAD has fielded Vijay Kumar Sharma, a two-time councillor whereas the AAP is yet to announce its candidate. The Congress is fielding Makhan Lal Thekadar while the BJP has fielded Krishan Kumar Yadav for the bypoll.
District election officer Showkat Ahmad Parray said 13 candidates also filed their papers for Rampura Phul municipal council on the day.
