Shiromani Akali Dal polls mere 2,075 votes in Gidderbaha

Warning bells are ringing for the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Gidderbaha, where the party won nine of the 15 Assembly elections but could secure only 2,075 votes across all 19 wards in the recently held civic body polls.

Some workers have started blaming the party’s office in-charge Gurwinder Singh Vanwala, while others are holding the senior leadership responsible for not contesting the Assembly bypoll in 2024. Vanwala said, “The results are dismal because of blatant violations by the ruling party. We were winning in at least five wards, but the ballot papers counted did not match those actually given to the voters.”

Some old-timers recalled that nobody could have imagined the present scenario. “Ex-CM Parkash Singh Badal won five times in a row from here and later handed over this segment to his nephew Manpreet Singh Badal, who also won four times consecutively,” said they said.

Similarly, the BJP, which contested the election under Manpreet, could secure just 973 votes. The party failed to secure even 100 votes in any ward.