The Congress on Saturday emerged as the clear winner in the Punjab Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls, winning the most number of seats against its rival Shiromani Akali Dal.
Counting of votes for the local polls took place on Saturday after the state went to vote on September 19.
A total of 354 zila parishad and 2,900 panchayat samiti members are to be elected through these polls. There are 22 zila parishads and 150 panchayat samitis in the state.
33 candidates were earlier elected unopposed to various zila parishads and 369 nominees were elected unopposed to the panchayat samitis.
There are a total of 1,27,87,395 registered voters in Punjab, comprising 60,99,053 women and 97 third-gender voters.
Earlier, Opposition party Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) accused the ruling party of electoral fraud. Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal at Muktsar claimed a large number of Congress workers, brandishing swords, were involved in booth capturing. He accused the police of being "mute spectator".
"Booth capturing is taking place and as an MLA I will not tolerate this in my area. Police was not performing its duty. What kind of elections were these, where booths were captured and nomination papers of Akalis rejected," he asked. Further, the SAD alleged bogus votes were polled at some locations.
Clashes between Congress and Akali workers were reported from Rajasansi in Amritsar, Jhoke Harihar in Ferozepur, Lodhi Gujjar in Ajnala and Sohia Kalan in Majitha.
During the clashes members of both factions pelted stones at each other and used sticks as weapons causing minor injuries to a few.
In Bathinda, former minister and Akali leader Sikander Singh Maluka accused Congress workers of booth capturing at Kangar, Bhai Rupa and Salabatpura. Akali workers led by Maluka blocked Bhagta Bathinda Road to register their protest against the ruling party.
A total of 17,268 polling booths were set up, 35 observers appointed and around 50,000 police personnel deployed for the polls in Punjab.The Congress was touted as the favourite to win the zila parishads and panchayat samitis after a gap of 10 years.
CAPT AMARINDER HAILS CONGRESS POLL VICTORY AS ENDORSEMENT OF HIS GOVT’S POLICIES
Chandigarh: Soon after the results, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday hailed the Congress victory in the Zila Parishads and Block Samitis poll results claiming it to be an endorsement of his government’s policies and programmes, and a total rejection of the Opposition’s malicious campaign against the ruling dispensation.
In a statement issued here, Capt Amarinder congratulated the people of Punjab for standing firm against the Opposition’s attempts to sway them, and to thwart the free and fair democratic poll process, with its cheap pressure tactics and false propaganda.
He also lauded the State Election Commission, Civil and Police administration, and all the poll officials for ensuring smooth conduct of Zila Parishads/Block Samitis elections in a free, fair and transparent manner.
Pointing out that this was the fourth consecutive humiliating defeat of the SAD-BJP combine, after back to back victories for the Congress in the State Assembly, Urban Local Bodies, Gurdaspur Parliamentary and Shahkot Assembly by-polls, the Chief Minister termed it a vindication of his party’s efforts to bring the state out of the quagmire of devastation into which it had been plunged by the previous SAD-BJP government.
Capt Amarinder trashed the Akali allegations of booth capturing by the Congress, saying that it was the SAD, on the contrary, which had stooped to all kind of hooliganism to try and derail the poll process, particularly in Sri Muktsar Sahib. He cited the video of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, which had gone viral and which showed him ordering his party men to intimidate voters.
These last ditch efforts by the Akalis to stall the Government’s efforts to ensure free and fair polls was a clear sign of their growing frustration and dejection over their repeated electoral defeats, he added.
