The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab secured a significant victory in 102 civic bodies by clinching 862 out of the 1,765 wards counted so far. The Congress emerged as the principal Opposition, winning 348 seats, while Independents came in third with 242 wards. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won 169 wards, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 138, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won six wards.
These elections are crucial for the ruling AAP as they precede the early 2027 assembly polls. In Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s constituency, Dhuri, AAP triumphed in 20 out of 21 seats. AAP leader Manish Sisodia expressed gratitude to voters for their trust in party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Mann. He emphasized that the people of Punjab had rejected the “ED party” (referring to the BJP) and stated that such politics would not succeed in Punjab.
State Congress President Raja Warring commended the party’s performance in municipal corporation elections in Patiala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, and Jalandhar. He praised the workers for their efforts in standing up against the ruling AAP, alleging misuse of power and official resources during the elections. The municipal elections, covering 102 bodies including eight corporations, 75 councils, and 19 nagar panchayats, witnessed a turnout of 63.94 percent.
In the Municipal Corporation of Barnala, AAP secured victory in 36 out of 50 wards, with the BJP winning seven seats, while Independent candidates and Congress won five and two seats, respectively. The Pathankot Municipal Corporation saw a close contest among Congress, BJP, and AAP, with Congress leading with 10 seats out of 50, followed by BJP with nine and AAP with five seats. In Bathinda, AAP won 14 out of 21 seats, and in Moga, AAP reached 29 seats, close to the required 26 for electing its Mayor.
Nagar panchayats had the highest voter turnout at 76.18 percent, followed by Municipal Councils at 65.06 percent and Municipal Corporations at 59.91 percent. The state Election Commission reported that Municipal Corporations had 10.71 lakh electors, with 6.41 lakh votes cast, while Municipal Councils had over 22.87 lakh voters and nearly 14.88 lakh votes. Nagar Panchayats recorded over 1.07 lakh votes out of 1.41 lakh electors.
Allegations of clashes and booth capturing involving supporters of BJP, Congress, AAP, and Akali Dal were reported during polling day.
