Punjab civic body polls: Congress wins 37 wards to secure Mohali municipal corporation

The ruling Congress in Punjab won the Mohali municipal corporation election on Thursday, while the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party failed to secure any of the wards in the civic body, reported PTI. After the final count, the Congress won 37 wards while the remaining went to the Independents.

With this, the ruling Congress in the state bagged victory in seven municipal corporations. The Congress emerged as the leading party in the Moga civic body, where no one had a clear majority. The party had secured six civic bodies – Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Abohar, Pathankot, Batala and Bathinda – on Wednesday.

Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu’s brother Amarjeet Singh Sidhu, who is the Congress’ mayoral candidate, contested and won from ward number 10 of the civic body. Balbir Singh Sidhu thanked people of Mohali for backing the Congress.

The Congress had contested in all 50 seats, the SAD had fielded 43 of its leaders, and the Bharatiya Janata Party had 46.

The vote counting in the Mohali municipal corporation was done on Thursday as re-polling was conducted at two booths on Wednesday. The election panel had ordered re-polling in booth numbers 32 and 33 of the civic body.

The results came as a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party amid the farmers’ protest against the three agricultural laws.

After the Congress secured six civic bodies on Wednesday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh hailed the victory as spectacular. “The first major polls to be held in Punjab since the enactment of the draconian farm laws had also underscored people’s angst with the BJP, which was responsible for the anti-farmer legislation with the active support of its former ally, the SAD, and the collusion of ruling AAP in Delhi,” he said. “All these parties had shamelessly trampled on the rights of the farmers, with the clear aim of destroying Punjab.”