Party manages to cash in on anti-Badal wave in Doaba

JALANDHAR: Even as the issue of Ranjit Singh panel report was not much palpable in Doaba, the ruling Congress still managed to cash in on the anti-Badals wave in the region by securing 75% of panchayat samiti seats while having a clean sweep in the zila parishad polls.

In the region, which comprises Jalandhar, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar and Hoshiarpur districts, there are a total of 579 panchayat samiti seats, of which results of 418 were declared while counting of votes was still on in 161 zones till the filing of the report.

Of the 418 seats, the Congress has secured 312 seats while Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) managed to win 58 seats only. The remaining 34 seats went to other parties and independents.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 14 seats in Hoshiarpur, taking the SAD-BJP alliance tally to 72 seats.

There are a total of 66 zila parishad zones in Doaba region, of which 39 results were declared. The Congress won 35 of these seats while the SAD could secure only two seats. The results of remaining 27 seats were awaited.

The Congress’s victory came despite the criticism being faced by the party for allegedly failing to fulfil the promises made by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh ahead of 2017 assembly elections.

“The religious sentiments of people were hurt in the wake of the sacrilege incidents that took place during the regime of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and there is a huge anti-Badal wave, especially in villages,” said Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary.

In Jalandhar, The Congress won 132 of the total 191 panchayat samiti while SAD was reduced to 34 seats. The remaining 25 seats were won by others. Of the total 21 zila parishad seats, the Congress bagged 20 while one had gone to an Independent. The SAD could not win even a single seat.

In Hoshiarpur, results of 114 of 211 panchayat samiti zones were declared, of which the Congress secured as many as 92 seats. The SAD-BJP jointly won 21 seats and the remaining one was secured by an Independent. The Congress also won two zila parishad zones and it was leading in the remaining 23 seats at the time of filing of this report.

Cabinet minister Sunder Sham Arora celebrated the victory of party candidates by offering them ‘laddoos’. It was a victory of Congress’ policies, he said. “The landslide victory of Congress in the rural elections is a good omen. It is a prelude to the 2019 parliamentary elections”, he added.

In Kapurthala, results of 51of the 88 panchayat samiti seats were declared. The Congress

bagged 46 seats while SAD could win four seats. One seat was won by an Independent candidate. In Sultanpur Lodhi subdivision of the district, the Congress registered a landslide victory by winning all 17 panchayat samiti seats. Of the 10 zila parishad seats, the Congress won nine seats while one went to the SAD.

Similarly, in SBS Nagar, results of 62 of the total 89 panchayat samiti zones were declared. Of these, the Congress secured 42 seats, while SAD won 13. The remaining seven were won by others.

Of the 10 zila parishad zones in the district, results of six were declared. The Congress won four of these seats while the SAD could win one seat only. The sixth seat was won by an independent.

OF 418 DECLARED PANCHAYAT SAMITI SEATS, PARTY SECURED 312 WHILE SAD WAS REDUCED TO 58; IT ALSO WON 35 OF 39 ZILA PARISHAD SEATS AS AGAINST SAD’S 2 ONLY