AAP claims win in 78% Punjab zila parishads as counting continues

Out of the 347 Zila Parishads that went to polls, results in 168 were declared till 8pm. Of the total, 132 went to AAP, 26 to Congress, SAD won 4, BJP 2 and independents won two.

Till 8pm, of the 2,838 samities, results of 1909 were declared. AAP won 1242 samitis, Congress won 331, SAD won 211, BJP won 42 and independents won 83 samitis.

AAP Punjab chief Aman Arora told The Indian Express that the party won 78 per cent zila parishads and 65 per cent panchayat samitis.

While the results of all rural bodies would be out not before midnight, the exact calculations would be done only after the complete results. While ruling party stays on top, the Congress is a distant number two and SAD number three with BJP also able to bag a few seats.

The rural polls were fiercely contested with PILs filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by SAD, Congress and BJP against alleged government excesses. The elections also saw former Patiala SSP Varun Sharma proceeding on leave after an audio, purported to be of Sharma telling his subordinates to not allow the Opposition candidates to file their nominations. He proceeded on leave hours before the case was to be heard by HC.

The native villages of some senior AAP leaders also saw party candidates losing the elections. From Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to several MLAs and MPs, many failed to secure victories for their candidates in their native villages. In Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan’s village, Sandhwan, the SAD candidate won the Block Samiti elections. SAD candidate Mahinder Singh secured 1101 votes, while the AAP candidate Mukhtiar Singh came in second with 930 votes. Congress candidate Jaswinder Singh secured 714 votes.

The wife of gangster-turned-politician Gurpreet Singh Sekhon, who was arrested during the elections and later released on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and fourteen of his other supporters won the elections.

In Barnala, the AAP candidate in the native village of Lok Sabha MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Kurar, lost the Block Samiti election to the SAD candidate Jaswinder Kaur. This is the second consecutive setback for Meet Hayer. Earlier, after he became an MP, the Barnala assembly seat fell vacant, and in the subsequent by-election, Meet Hayer could not secure a victory for his party’s official candidate.

AAP Sangrur MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj also failed to secure a victory for her party’s candidate. In the native village of former minister and AAP chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, party candidate, Jagged Singh lost the elections.

Congress candidate in Nabha Gurmeet Kaur, whose nomination papers were snatched, also won against her nearest AAP rival, Karamjit Kaur.

AAP Punjab chief Aman Arora told The Indian Express that the party won 78 per cent zila parishads and 65 per cent panchayat samitis. He thanked the people of Punjab for showing faith in AAP’s good governance. He said the results were completely one sided and the AAP was the first choice of the people. Arora also said the elections were held in free and fair environment. He said, “People’s mandate has favoured the policies and governance delivered by the government.”

PPCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said that he was not at all surprised over the results of the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections, but was definitely satisfied with the performance of the party candidates across the state. “Given the track record of the AAP government with a compliant and obedient administration and police, I am not at all surprised about the results and trends, but I am definitely satisfied with the performance of our party candidates against all odds,” Warring said.

He added that the AAP may rejoice in the manipulated and manufactured outcome of these elections, but in real terms its final countdown has begun. “The AAP will eventually be shown the door within a year from now,” he said, adding that even the AAP leaders have realised it.

The AAP, however, did find some relief in Chhajli block. In Panchayat Samiti Chhajli under Block Dharamgarh, which includes villages Dharamgarh and Satoj, AAP candidate Harvinder Pal Sharma defeated SAD candidate Shamsher Singh by 748 votes. Satoj is the native village of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, making the victory a major relief for the ruling party.

Reports also indicated that in the Khudian zone, a SAD candidate defeated the AAP nominee by 145 votes. The zone includes Khudian village, the native village of Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian.

Similarly, in Jagdev Kalan block, SAD candidates defeated AAP nominees. The block includes the native village of AAP MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, though the exact results were still awaited at the time of filing this report.

In Mohali’s Kharar block, of the 15 Samitis, AAP emerged victorious on seven seats, Congress won five, SAD secured two seats, while one seat went to an Independent candidate. In the district’s Majri block, of the total 15 seats, AAP won five, Congress one, SAD eight, and one seat was won by an Independent candidate.