AAP sweeps Patiala MC polls amid low turnout, clashes

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept the municipal corporation elections amid a low 33% turnout and clashes, storming home in 35 of the 45 wards that went to polls.

In the 60-member House, polls have been deferred in seven while eight candidates were elected unopposed.

Nearly 75,000 of the total 2,27,417 voters sealed the fate of over 100 candidates on election day. AAP candidates defeated their opponents in 35 seats.

To register a clear majority, a party needed to cross the magic figure of 31 in the 60-member house. The last elections were held on December 17,2017. The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured four seats each while the Shiromani Akali Dal bagged two.

The ruling AAP had a clear advantage coming into the polls as 15 of its candidates had been elected unopposed. Following the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, elections in seven wards —Number 1, 32, 33, 36, 41, 48 and 50 — were deferred.

The unopposed election of AAP’s eight other candidates stands, taking its tally to 43.

The party also scored big other local body elections in the district. It won 15 seats in the Sanaur Municipal Council, 13 in the Devigarh Nagar Panchayat and 11 in the Ghanaur Nagar Panchayat unopposed. In the 11-member Bhadson Nagar Panchayat, AAP secured five seats, and eight in the 13-member Ghagga Nagar Panchayat.

Reacting to the results, Congress’ Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi said AAP’s experiment has paid off, adding, “It was a friendly match between the ruling AAP and the BJP, a trial before the 2027 assembly elections. The AAP wants to project the BJP as a serious contender instead of the Congress because in the present scenario, we have an advantage over them in direct fights.”

“Unfortunately, while BJP leaders were given central security, AAP was enjoying the backing of police. In such a situation other parties stand no chance,” he added.

Notably, the elections of municipal corporation Patiala were marred by violence and allegations of vote rigging with incidents of clashes being reported between AAP workers and supporters of opposition parties during the polling.

BJP leader Jai Inder Kaur accused the AAP of muzzling democratic values, adding, “The city has never witnessed such lawlessness and violence during elections in the past. We have lodged a complaint with the state election commission, and we will again knock on the door of the court for justice.”

“The complete defiance of poll code was for everyone to see. The AAP would have been thrown out if the elections would have been held in a free and fair manner,” she added.

The voting percentage also painted a dismal picture. The 33 per cent turnout is a massive drop from the 2017 elections’ figure of 62.22 per cent. The Bhadson and Ghagga Nagar Panchayats registered a healthy turnout of 74 and 78 per cent respectively.

Youth Congress’ state unit president Mohit Mohindra said, “Merely 33 per cent polling indicates that people of Patiala have boycotted the elections. The residents have seen how the AAP used both muscle power and misused official machinery to grab the mandate. The AAP’s purpose was not to contest but to hijack the elections.”

Big winners

Prominent AAP leaders who bagged a win inlude Harpal Juneja from, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 assembly elections in 2022, Jasbir Singh Gandhi, AAP oldest volunteer in the city, district urban AAP president Tejinder Mehta, Harinder Singh Kholi, former Deputy Mayor who had switched over the BJP, Manvir Ablowal, a close confidant of Surjit Singh Rakhra.

The saffron party’s Anuj Khosla managed to secure a win over AAP’s Jarnail Mannu from Ward No 40 despite the wave. The ward had seen clashes between the two parties’ supporters, Notably, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had campaigned for Mannu, while AAP MLAs Gurlal Ghanaur and Chetan Singh Jouramajra also camped in the ward on voting day, prompted a complaint from the BJP.

Neha Sharma, the wife of Youth Congress’ district unit chief Sanjiv Sharma Kalu also defied the AAP wave to secure a victory. Kalu had been apprehended by police before the elections for an alleged poll code violation.