Electorates of five municipal corporations in Punjab gave a fragmented mandate in Saturday’s elections, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) winning a clear majority only in Patiala. The ruling party has won 35 out of 45 wards after winning the stronghold of former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. You have a majority with 43 councilors in the 60-member municipality by adding eight unopposed winners and seven suspended wards.
However, AAP faced setbacks in Amritsar and Phagwara, where it stood second. In Ludhiana and Jalandhar, it emerged as the largest party but fell short of the majority required to install mayors, requiring the support of coalitions or independents and smaller parties.
Congress is poised to lead with a clear majority while factoring in alliances in Amritsar and Phagwara. In Amritsar, the Congress won 43 out of 85 wards, while in Phagwara, it won 22 seats and is likely to form an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which won nine seats.
In Jalandhar, AAP claimed 39 out of 85 seats, needing external support to appoint its mayor. Ludhiana, meanwhile, saw AAP win 41 of the 95 seats, followed by Congress with 30 and BJP with 19.
The election was not without controversy. In Patiala, a High Court order delayed elections in seven wards after AAP supporters allegedly obstructed opposition candidates from filing nominations. Viral videos have criticized such incidents.
In Ludhiana, AAP faced embarrassment as the wives of two MLAs lost their contests. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s home district of Sangrur saw a split decision, with independents winning the most seats.
AAP Punjab President Aman Arora praised the party’s performance and said it has created history by winning more than 50% wards in Punjab. However, he dismissed speculation of an alliance with the Congress in Punjab, clarifying that their Bharat Bloc partnership was limited to the national level.
Arora criticized the BJP, Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal and claimed that they had struggled to find candidates. He praised the Election Commission for conducting transparent elections and attributed the party’s achievements to AAP’s governance system.
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