AAP leads zila parishad, panchayat samiti polls in Punjab as counting continues

Chandigarh, Dec 17 (PTI) The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was leading in the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections in Punjab as per results declared so far on Wednesday, with the party calling the outcome a “clear endorsement” of the state government’s people-centric policies.

Complete results are yet to be declared as counting of ballot papers is still underway, officials said.

According to trends and results declared so far, the AAP has emerged ahead in a majority of zones across zila parishads and panchayat samitis. The Congress was placed second, followed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

In the zila parishads, the AAP won more than 60 zones, while the Congress led in over 10 zones, the SAD in three, the BJP in one, and two were won by independents.

The ruling party was ahead in over 1,000 zones in the panchayat samitis, followed by the Congress in more than 250 zones, the SAD in over 170, the BJP in more than 25 and others in 65 zones.

Polling was held on December 14 to elect members for 347 zones of 22 zila parishads and 2,838 zones of 153 panchayat samitis.

The SAD registered victories in a few key blocks, including Barnala’s Mehal Kalan, where its candidate Jaswinder Kaur defeated AAP's Swarnjit Kaur. It also won in the Jagdev Kalan block in Amritsar, which is the native village of AAP MLA and former minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal.

SAD also emerged victorious in the Sandhwan block samiti, which is the native of Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan.

AAP Punjab president and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said the results declared so far reflected people’s faith in the ruling party’s governance.

He expressed gratitude to the people of Punjab for what he termed a “resounding mandate” and the outcome of a clear endorsement of the state government’s people-centric policies. Arora further said these polls were among the most peaceful and fair local body elections in recent times.

"With results continuing to come in, a decisive and one-sided mandate is clearly visible in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party. I congratulate all Punjabis for strengthening democracy and for placing their trust in good governance," he said.

He congratulated AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, party leaders, MLAs, candidates and volunteers, saying the victory is the result of the government's performance over the past few years and the tireless hard work of the party's volunteers at the grassroots.

"We went to the people's court with the work done by the AAP government over the past four years. The people of Punjab have put their stamp of approval on our governance," he added.

Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said he was not surprised by the trends but expressed satisfaction with the performance of his party’s candidates.

In his message to the party cadres, rank and file and the leaders, the Punjab Congress Committee president congratulated them for their "perseverance and performance against a hostile electoral system that the AAP government has thrust on the state".

"Given the track record of the AAP government with a compliant and obedient administration and police, I am not at all surprised by the results and trends, but I am definitely satisfied with the performance of our party candidates against all odds", he said.

"The AAP may rejoice in the manipulated and manufactured outcome of these elections, but in real terms, its final countdown has begun", Warring said, noting that the party will eventually be shown the exit door within a year from now.

He also alleged that the ruling party hijacked the electoral process right from the beginning by intimidating opposition parties' candidates, forcibly preventing them from filing the nomination papers, hindering their campaign and eventually influencing the results.

Warring further said the real battle will be fought during the assembly elections when the AAP will not have any support from any compliant administration or police.

Similar to the Lok Sabha elections, when the Congress trounced the AAP, where it won just three of the thirteen parliamentary seats, it will repeat in the February 2027 Vidhan Sabha elections, he said.

BJP leader Tarun Chugh also alleged the “blatant misuse” of government machinery during the counting process by AAP and demanded a fair and transparent exercise. He said democratic norms were "openly crushed".

AAP MLAs, along with their supporters, "forcibly entered counting booths early in the morning, blocked representatives of opposition parties, and misused the government machinery to manipulate the electoral process", he said.

Counting began at 8 am at 154 centres across the state. A voter turnout of 48 per cent was recorded, with over 9,000 candidates in the fray.

Earlier in the day in Patiala, SAD workers alleged they were denied entry to a counting centre on the Patiala-Nabha road. SAD leader Jaspal Singh claimed Rahul Saini, son of Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh, was inside the counting centre, while opposition representatives were denied entry.

The opposition leaders demanded immediate intervention by election authorities to ensure transparent and fair counting, saying that "continued interference" would undermine public faith in the democratic process.

Candidates of all major political parties -- AAP, the Congress, SAD, and the BJP -- contested the zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls on party symbols. PTI CHS VSD OZ OZ