Punjab civic polls: SAD contesting 45% of total wards, BJP tad higher at 60%

The SAD had not participated in the bypolls for four Assembly seats held in November due to party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s tankhaiya status. Badal was barred from taking part in political activities by the Akal Takht Sahib, and the party had kept away from the polls in support of the party president.

Badal and other SAD leaders have completed the religious punishment announced by Akal Takht Sahib. However, he is yet to get the final verdict of Akal Takht Jathedar, so Badal stayed away from campaigning for the municipal polls as well.

The five municipal corporations – Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala, and Phagwara – have a combined strength of 370 wards, and the BJP could field candidates in 319 wards (86.2 per cent), while the SAD has put up nominees in 213 wards (57.56 per cent).

It needs to be mentioned that the BJP media office claimed that they had candidates for 367 out of 370 wards in five municipal corporations but only 319 candidates are in the fray owing to the ‘machinations’ of the ruling party.

The 44 municipal councils/ nagar panchayats in semi-urban areas have 598 wards in total. Of which, BJP candidates are in the fray in 268 wards (44.8 per cent). The SAD, which used to have an upper hand in the semi-urban areas in the past, could field only 225 candidates (37.62 per cent).

Among the 44 municipal councils going to polls, Sangrur has 29 wards while Rampura Phul in Bathinda district has 21. The remaining municipal councils/ nagar panchayats have 15 or less than 15 wards.

Municipal Corporations

In the 95-member strong Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, BJP candidates are contesting 90 wards, while SAD candidates are in the reckoning in 78 wards. In Amritsar, the BJP is contesting 84 of 85 wards and the SAD 69 wards. In Jalandhar, BJP candidates are contesting 83 of 85 wards, while the SAD is in the fray in only 31 wards. In Patiala, the BJP has fielded 25 candidates in 60 wards, compared to the SAD’s 26. In Phagwara, there are 50 wards and the BJP and the SAD are contesting 37 and nine wards, respectively.

BJP spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal had earlier alleged that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did not allow several of their candidates to file nomination papers, while nomination papers had also been ‘unfairly’ rejected on many occasions.

Parambans Bunty Rumana, senior SAD leader, said, “Papers of our candidates were rejected in Amritsar, Patiala, Ludhiana, and many other places. At the same time, due to the high-handedness of the ruling party in the state, many of our candidates couldn’t even file nomination papers. Our candidates are giving their best in the seats they are contesting.”

‘Invisible SAD-BJP alliance’

Although there is no official alliance between the BJP and the SAD, the latter fielded candidates in only nine wards in Phagwara, similar to what they used to do when they were in an alliance with the BJP. In seven of nine wards that the SAD is contesting, the BJP has not fielded any candidate.

Similarly, in Sangrur, the BJP is contesting 22 of 29 wards while the SAD is contesting 14. The BJP has not fielded any candidate in five of the 14 wards that the SAD is contesting. Sources revealed that this ‘undeclared seat adjustment’ was carried out by local leaders of the two parties.

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