SAD gets only 2 civic bodies in its kitty across Punjab from Majha
: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won only 2 municipalities in the Punjab civic body elections even as the ruling Congress made a near clean sweep in the Punjab civic body polls.
The party emerged victorious in the Majitha municipal council and the Ajnala nagar panchayat, both in the Amritsar district of the Majha region that comprises Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Taran districts besides Amritsar.
Of the region’s 16 civic bodies, 12 were swept by the Congress and it was a hung house in two municipalities.
In Majitha of Amritsar district, the home turf of former state minister and the party MLA Bikram Singh Majithia, the Akalis managed to win from 10 of the 13 wards.
In Ajnala, there was a tough fight between the SAD and the Congress. The Akali candidates won from eight wards and the Congress from seven. In Qadian, the SAD won seven of the 15 seats while the Congress prevailed in six. The Akalis managed to secure a thin majority in Ajnala and Qadian, even as sitting MLAs from these constituencies are of the Congress.
“Despite excesses of the ruling Congress, our candidates stood their ground in Majha. They deserve salutations. The voters in Majitha reposed faith in the SAD by ensuring the party’s win in 10 of the 13 seats. We also wrested the majority in the Sri Hargobindpur civic body,” Majithia said. The Jandiala Guru municipal council and the Rayya and Ramdas nagar panchayats in Amritsar district were wrested by the Congress that also emerged a winner in the ward 37 byelection in the Amritsar municipal corporation.
In Gurdaspur district, the Congress registered a thumping win, bagging the nagar councils of Gurdaspur, Dhariwal, Dinanagar, Fatehgarh Churian and the Batala municipal corporation.
In the Sri Hargobindpur nagar council, Independent candidates performed tremendously by winning from six of a total of 11 wards. The Congress and SAD managed to win 3 and 2 seats respectively from the civic body, failing to get a majority.
In Tarn Taran district, the Congress won the Bhikhiwind nagar panchayat and the Patti municipal council. Both the municipalities had witnessed clashes on the polling day. The AAP, which managed to win only two wards in Patti, alleged bogus voting and booth capturing. In the Pathankot municipal corporation, the Congress won 36 of the 50 wards, while the BJP managed to retain only 12 wards. In the Sujanpur municipal council, the Congress won eight of the 15 seats. The BJP and Independent candidates won five and two seats, respectively, in the civic body.
BJP, AAP put up dismal show
The BJP and the AAP put up a dismal show in Majha as they failed to win a single municipality. In the region, the Congress won from 211 wards (including 5 unopposed and 1 by election). Also, the SAD and the BJP managed to win from 48 and 21 wards. The AAP retained only 5 wards — 2 in Tarn Taran and 3 in Gurdaspur district.
The BJP didn’t win a single seat in Tarn Taran and Amritsar districts, a stronghold of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) which has been protesting at the Delhi borders against the farm laws. Similarly, the AAP failed to open its account in the Amritsar and Pathankot districts.