Punjab rural polls: Parties make last-minute push as campaigning ends

AAP’s final-day outreach

On Friday, cabinet ministers Aman Arora and Harbhajan Singh ETO campaigned in the Jandiala Guru area of Amritsar, while Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema addressed meetings in his constituency, Dirba.

Cheema told voters, “Opponents mocked us when we promised 300 units of free power, but today more than 90 per cent households are getting zero bills. We have given thousands of jobs, and we continue to deliver on our promises.”

However, the campaign saw controversy on Thursday after Sangrur MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj alleged during a rally in Jhaneri village (Bhawanigarh) that an independent candidate — allegedly involved in selling poppy husk and liquor — had earlier sought help from AAP functionaries to evade cases and was now contesting against the party’s candidate.

“Such people will only engage in hooliganism if elected,” she said in her speech. The BJP reacted sharply, sharing her video on its Facebook page with the caption: “MLA admits her people are selling drugs. If the government is saving culprits, how can drugs end?”

Development grants resurface

Villagers in Thui (Nabha block, Patiala) posted a video thanking the Punjab government for releasing Rs 50 lakh each to 149 villages where Guru Tegh Bahadur had visited, and gurdwaras have come up in those places. Though the scheme was announced earlier to mark the 350th martyrdom year of the Guru, the thanksgiving video has been shared by AAP Punjab on its social media handle while the rural poll campaign is going on.

Apart from these, sources indicated that many villages are being promised development grants if AAP candidates win by large margins.

SAD focuses on Parkash Singh Badal’s legacy

Sukhbir Singh Badal, campaigning in Gidderbaha on Thursday and in Bathinda and Ferozepur on Friday, reiterated that the “maximum development in Punjab happened under Parkash Singh Badal.”

He told voters that Badal ended waterlogging in Gidderbaha and launched welfare schemes such as free atta-dal and free power for tubewells.

Calling for support to SAD candidates, he said, “Voting en masse for SAD will be a true tribute to Parkash Singh Badal.”

He also attacked the Congress governments of the past six decades, challenging them to name “one major work” they did for Punjab.

BJP highlights illegal mining, central schemes

BJP working president and Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma campaigned across rural areas of his constituency on Thursday and Friday.

He said the BJP was receiving “immense support”, adding that illegal mining remained a core issue.

Sharma cited posters in parts of Anandpur Sahib – represented by AAP minister Harjot Singh Bains – where locals have demanded action against rampant mining.

“The government must answer on real issues,” he said.

High-pitched final day of campaign

Throughout the campaign, Opposition parties accused the ruling AAP of misusing official machinery. A viral audio clip allegedly involving Patiala SSP Varun Sharma on rural polls also became contentious.

Poll details

Punjab has 23 zila parishads with 357 constituencies, of which elections will be held in 342. Fifteen candidates – 12 in Tarn Taran and three in Amritsar, all from AAP – have already been elected unopposed. A total of 1,265 candidates are contesting the remaining seats.

In the 2,863 constituencies across 154 block samitis, 181 candidates have been elected unopposed: 98 (Tarn Taran), 63 (Amritsar), 17 (Hoshiarpur), 2 (Malerkotla) and 1 (SBS Nagar). Except for one independent in SBS Nagar, all are from AAP.

Polling will be held for the remaining 2,682 seats, where 8,314 candidates are in the fray. In total, 196 candidates across both tiers have been elected unopposed, while 9,579 remain in contention.

For Sunday’s polls, 19,181 booths have been set up across rural Punjab

The last zila parishad and block samiti polls were held in 2018, and the ruling dispensation is over two years late in conducting the polls. Traditionally, state governments have held rural polls within a year of coming to power. However, this is the first time in nearly two decades that these elections are being conducted just over a year before the next Vidhan Sabha polls scheduled for early 2027. With over 63 per cent of Punjab’s electorate eligible to vote in these rural polls, the exercise carries significant political weight for the ruling AAP. While Opposition parties are hoping to tap into anti-incumbency sentiment, poll experts privately admitted that, historically, both rural and urban local body elections tend to favour the ruling party.