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Punjab: State sees 77% turnout; Cong, BJP claim ‘big wins’
The polls for the posts of ‘sarpanch’ and ‘panch’ were held without the symbols of political parties.
Chandigarh
The state election commission said a voter turnout of 77% was recorded in the panchayat polls in Punjab that were held on Tuesday.
The polls for the posts of ‘sarpanch’ and ‘panch’ were held without the symbols of political parties.
Mansa district remained at the top with a poll percentage of 83.27 and Tarn Taran at the bottom with 64.40, said the commission said in a statement. Besides, 68.12% polling was recorded in Amritsar, 79.43% in Bathinda, 75.21% in Barnala, 78.47% in Fatehgarh Sahib, 70.21% in Faridkot and 75.14% in Ferozepur.
A voter turnout of 82.31% was registered in Fazilka, 69%in Gurdaspur, 69.78% in Hoshiarpur and 66.30% in Jalandhar, it said.
According to the statement, 66.14% polling was recorded in Kapurthala, 67.1% in Ludhiana, 77.22% in Malerkotla, 69.91% in Moga, 76.93% in SAS Nagar, 78.27% in Muktsar Sahib, 69.52% in SBS Nagar, 73.57% in Patiala, 79.20% in Pathankot, 77% in Ropar and 79.45% in Sangrur.
The commission conducted repolling in six gram panchayats on Wednesday based on reports received from deputy commissioners.
These are Mansa Khurd panchayat in Mansa, Lohke Khurd panchayat in Ferozepur, Kotla Mehar Singh Wala village in Moga, and Khuda, Kheti Raju Singh and Karim Nagar in Patiala.
The commission had also directed the cancellation of the poll at Lakhmir Ka Uttar panchayat in Ferozepur due to obstruction faced by voters while casting their votes.
Countermanding of the polls was ordered at Langomahal and Kalli Sohal due to the death of the candidates, it said.
AAP: 3,800 sarpanches elected unanimously
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday said that more than 3,800 sarpanches and 48,000 panches were elected unanimously in the panchayat polls in Punjab.
AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said that during the panchayat elections, the appeal made by chief minister Bhagwant Mann had a significant impact on the people. He also praised the district administration and the state election commission for successfully and peacefully conducting the elections. The state has a total of 13,237 panchayats.
Garg also said that as per the chief minister’s announcement, panchayats that elected sarpanches unanimously will receive a special grant of ₹5 lakh from the government.
Cong-backed candidates won in most villages: Waring
Punjab Congress chief and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring claimed that Congress-backed sarpanches emerged victorious in 50-60% of villages across Punjab.
“The people of Punjab have sent a powerful message. Despite AAP’s relentless manipulation and misuse of power to sway the panchayat elections, Congress-backed candidates have won the confidence of the people in over half of the villages across the state,” Warring said.
People rejected AAP, Cong: Bittu
Union minister of state and BJP leader Ravneet Bittu claimed that the BJP has won 45% of seats in the polls.
In a tweet, Bittu said people of Punjab have rejected the divisive and false agenda of the AAP and Congress in panchayat polls. “This shows that Punjab stands firmly with the BJP,” he said.
