Cong prepares for Zila Parishad elections

The Congress has begun preparations for the upcoming Block Committee and Zila Parishad elections, with district president and Phagwara MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal holding a key meeting with rural party workers at his residence on Thursday.

The meeting witnessed participation from the Congress rural president, former Zila Parishad members, former chairmen and members of the Phagwara Block Committee, along with sarpanches, panches and numberdars in large numbers.

Addressing the gathering, MLA Dhaliwal said the party, in line with directions from the high command, would field “capable and deserving candidates” on the Congress ticket. He urged party workers to launch preparations without delay and strengthen grassroots connections to ensure unity ahead of the polls.

Calling elections the “first step” towards ending what he termed the “lacklustre rule of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)” in Punjab, Dhaliwal said, “The time has come to gear up to free Punjab from the ineffective governance of the AAP government, starting with the upcoming local body elections.”

Taking a swipe at AAP leaders, Dhaliwal claimed that they now realised that their hold on power in Punjab was short-lived. Referring to remarks by senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, he alleged that the party was ready to use “all kinds of tactics” to win elections. “But the people of Punjab will never tolerate such hooliganism,” he added.

The rural workers present at the meeting pledged full support to the Congress in all future elections, vowing to expose what they called “false claims” of the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government. The gathering concluded with spirited slogans of “Congress zindabad” and “Dhaliwal zindabad.”