The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has swept the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections in Punjab.
In the zila parishad elections, the AAP won 218 seats with the Congress finishing a distant second with 62 seats, followed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (46), BJP (seven), BSP (three) and Independents (10).
Similarly, in the panchayat samiti elections, the AAP won 1,531 seats, the Congress 612, the SAD 445, the BJP 73, the BSP 28 and Independent candidates won 144 seats.
Polling was held on December 14 to elect members for 347 seats of 22 zila parishads and 2,838 seats encompassing 153 panchayat samitis.
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said his party's impressive performance in the zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls showed that people in rural areas of Punjab have put their stamp of approval on the Bhagwant Mann government's works.
Kejriwal, accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, also vehemently rejected the Opposition’s accusations of "high-handedness" in the polling process and claimed that the elections were conducted in fair and free manner. Stating that almost 70 per cent seats in the local body polls have been won by the AAP, Kejriwal said the results showed that there was a wave in favour of his party in the state.
Meanwhile, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring accused the AAP government of "stealing" the elections. "STOLEN GLORY @AAPPunjab may bask in STOLEN GLORY of 'sweeping' the rural mandate, but it knows pretty well where it stands. We know it. They know it. People of Punjab know it. They have NOT swept the elections, they have STOLEN these," alleged Warring in a post on X.
Also Read: Work matters, not names: CM Mann on VB-G RAM G Bill
Follow us
