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CHANDIGARH: The results of the Block Samiti and Zila Parishad elections in Punjab have triggered a sharp political confrontation, with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party projecting the verdict as proof of pro-incumbency, while the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal have alleged large-scale rigging and misuse of state machinery.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said the party had won around 70 per cent of the total seats, calling the outcome a clear endorsement of the Bhagwant Mann government’s performance over the past four years. Addressing a press conference in Mohali along with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Kejriwal said AAP would go into the next Assembly elections on the plank of development carried out in the state.
Kejriwal listed the Yudh Nasheyan Virudh campaign, canal water for irrigation, free electricity, construction of nearly 19,000 km of village roads, employment generation, focus on education, Mohalla Clinics and easy registry reforms as the key factors behind the party’s strong showing. He said the results reflected a pro-incumbent mood ahead of the Assembly polls. Calling the elections a true reflection of public will, Kejriwal said earlier local body polls in 2013 and 2018 were flawed, claiming that videography was not conducted at that time. He said this time several seats were decided by narrow margins, adding that about 580 seats were won by margins of less than 100 votes, while the opposition managed to secure 319 seats.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann maintained that the elections were held in a free and fair manner and dismissed allegations raised by opposition parties. Taking a swipe at the Congress, Mann said former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi had conducted several elections in the past and that the results in his own area now spoke for themselves. He also said the Shiromani Akali Dal, which projects itself as a rural party, finished third in the elections.
The Congress, however, accused the ruling party of hijacking the rural body polls. Senior Congress leaders alleged intimidation of candidates and workers, misuse of official machinery and irregularities during polling and counting in several areas. The party said it would raise the issue at appropriate forums and demanded accountability from the State Election Commission.
The sharpest attack came from the Shiromani Akali Dal, which accused AAP of stealing the Block Samiti and Zila Parishad elections in collusion with the State Election Commission and the Punjab Police. Addressing a press conference, senior SAD leaders Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Arshdeep Singh Kler demanded a judicial probe into the functioning of the State Election Commission and sought its immediate removal. The SAD said it would approach the Punjab Governor to seek intervention and would also take legal recourse.
Alleging unprecedented violence, the party claimed that for the first time in Punjab’s history a ruling party had captured polling booths using arms and weapons, attacked opposition workers and indulged in widespread rigging. Dr Cheema alleged that SAD workers were injured at several places including Qazikot in Tarn Taran, Talwandi Dasondha Singh in Majitha, Naushehra Majasingh in Batala, Kingra in Malout, Madhir and Bahania in Gidderbaha, and Dharamkot. He claimed that AAP supporters resorted to firing at multiple locations in coordinated attacks and even used proclaimed offenders to target polling staff in Talwandi Dasondha Singh.
“Democracy has been murdered. The State Election Commission has failed to conduct the Panchayati Raj institution elections fairly and has acted as a tool of the Aam Aadmi Party,” Dr Cheema said, alleging that public faith in grassroots democracy had been eroded.
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