AAP gains early lead in polls for zila parishad, block samitis

It may sound absurd to a firm believer in democracy, but the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has already secured nearly one-third of the Block Samiti seats unopposed in Amritsar district. Its candidates in 63 of the total 195 Block Samiti zones have been declared elected without contest. The party has also won three of the 24 Zila Parishad zones unopposed.

As political observers often note and the public also understands, this early lead is only the tip of the iceberg. With the government believed to have more political levers at its disposal, it would hardly be surprising if the AAP ultimately wins over 80 per cent of the seats.

This is not unprecedented. The Congress, too, had swept the 2018 rural polls, winning 21 of the 25 Zila Parishad seats and 154 of the 199 Block Samiti zones. Similar one-sided outcomes have occurred in previous elections as well.

Even as AAP appears poised to declare that the people of Punjab have once again reaffirmed their trust in the party and in Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, political pundits insist that the eventual result is already largely predictable.

In Amritsar district, the trend of unopposed victories is especially stark. Chogawan Block Samiti leads with 12 uncontested winners out of 20 seats. It is followed by Majitha-I, where 11 of 18 candidates have been elected unopposed, and Majitha-II, where 9 of 15 seats have seen no contest.

Another Block Samiti with a striking number of unopposed winners is Harsha Chinna, where 9 of the 15 members have been elected without opposition. Majitha-I and Majitha-II fall under the Majitha Assembly segment, while Harsha Chinna and Chogawan fall under the Rajasansi constituency.

In Tarn Taran Zila Parishad, AAP is already in a position to declare its chairman as it has won 12 of the total 20 zones unopposed and has a majority even before the elections are held. Of the 165 Block Samiti zones, it has already won 98.

The political backdrop is further complicated by a recent incident in Bhindi Saidan village of Rajasansi, where a sarpanch was allegedly thrashed by AAP supporters and later booked by the police. The episode triggered a boycott of the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections in three constituencies; Rajasansi, Ajnala and Majitha.

With the Congress already out of the contest, the main fight now remains between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal. However, it is not much of a fight now as most of its former halqa in-charges are either astray or inactive.