AAP Sweeps Punjab Civic Polls with 48% Ward Wins; CM Bhagwant Mann Hails Result as Approval of Development

The Aam Aadmi Party secured over 48 per cent of municipal wards in the Punjab civic body elections on Friday, claiming 958 out of 1,977 seats.

Congress came second with 397 wards, while the Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP won 191 and 172 wards, respectively. Independent candidates registered victories in 251 wards, and the BSP took seven.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the result represents the people's stamp of approval on his government's development works. The people of Punjab have rejected the opposition's "politics of hatred," he said, adding, "They have rejected parties who indulge in divisive politics."

The municipal elections were widely seen as a litmus test for AAP and a referendum on the Mann government's performance. The decisive victory arrives ahead of the Punjab assembly elections scheduled for early next year. 

 The stakes were also high for Congress. Losing the Gidderbaha Municipal Council is a setback for the party. BJP, which was seeing these elections as an opportunity to expand its base, fell short of expectations. It could not perform in urban segments the way it had hoped. The poll results brought some relief to SAD, whose performance showed that it has retained its support base in urban segments.

Detailed results from municipal corporations and councils highlighted AAP's dominance across key regions, alongside celebrations from the party leadership and pushback from the opposition.

Corporation and council results

Out of the eight municipal corporations featuring 50 wards each, AAP recorded decisive victories in Moga, Barnala, Bathinda, and Batala by winning 30, 36, 31, and 30 wards, respectively. The ruling party also emerged as the single largest party in Mohali with 26 wards.

Congress secured a dominant position in Kapurthala with 31 wards. Meanwhile, the BJP became the single largest party in Pathankot and Abohar, securing 22 and 28 wards.

In the Dhuri Municipal Council, Mann's home turf, AAP captured 19 of 21 wards, leaving two for Independents. AAP also breached Congress leader Amrinder Singh Raja Warring's stronghold of Gidderbaha, winning 17 of 19 wards, with Congress taking the remaining two.

Congress bagged seven of the 13 wards in the Chamkaur Sahib Municipal Council, while AAP and Independents secured three each. In Majitha, the turf of Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, AAP won seven wards against SAD's six. Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia's wife Ganieve Kaur Majithia is the MLA from the Majitha assembly segment.

Prominent winners included AAP's Sunny Ahluwalia from Ward 6 and AAP MLA Kulwant Singh's son Sarabjeet Singh from Ward 42, both in Mohali. Former health minister and Congress leader Balbir Singh Sidhu's son Kanwarbir Singh Sidhu lost in Mohali's Ward 10.

AAP celebrations and jibes

AAP workers celebrated the election results by exchanging sweets and dancing to dhol beats. National convener Arvind Kejriwal thanked Punjab voters for the party's "spectacular"  victory.

"Congratulations to everyone. By casting this historic vote, the people have applauded the work of the Bhagwant Mann government. We will continue to do good work in the same way in the future," Kejriwal said.

Targeting the BJP, Kejriwal said, "The ED party has been wiped out." He said voters had avenged the state's small traders who faced harassment from raids conducted by the "ED party."