CHANDIGARH: The ruling Aam Aadmi Party registered a sweeping victory in the Punjab civic body elections on Friday, significantly reshaping the state’s urban political landscape ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls.
Out of the eight municipal corporations where results were declared or counting was underway, AAP secured clear victories in four. The party won 36 of 50 wards in Barnala, 30 of 50 in Batala, 30 of 50 in Moga and 26 of 50 in Mohali, where counting was still underway at the time of filing this report.
In the Nagar Panchayat elections, AAP won 105 out of 246 wards. The Shiromani Akali Dal came second with 66 wards, followed by Independents with 48. The Indian National Congress won 26 wards, while the Bahujan Samaj Party managed one seat and the Bharatiya Janata Party failed to open its account.
In the 75 municipal councils, results for 1,272 out of 1,331 wards across 59 councils had been declared. AAP won 630 wards, followed by Congress with 263, Independents with 177, SAD with 100, BJP with 97 and BSP with five.
Congress managed a notable win in Kapurthala municipal corporation, securing 31 seats against AAP’s 11. In Chamkaur Sahib Municipal Council, Congress won seven wards, while AAP and Independents secured three wards each. Former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi represented the Chamkaur Sahib Assembly segment earlier.
The BJP secured a majority in Abohar by winning 27 out of 50 seats. In Pathankot, however, no party crossed the majority mark, with BJP emerging as the single largest party with 23 seats, followed by Congress with 16, AAP with 10 and one Independent.
In Bathinda too, no party had secured a majority at the time of filing. AAP was leading as the single largest party with 23 seats out of 50, while results for 15 wards were still awaited.
AAP also dominated in Gidderbaha Municipal Council, winning 17 out of 19 wards, while Congress managed only two seats. Gidderbaha is considered a stronghold of Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
In Dhuri Municipal Council, AAP won 19 wards while Independents secured two. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann represents the Dhuri Assembly constituency.
Elections to 102 municipal bodies, including eight municipal corporations, 75 municipal councils and 19 nagar panchayats, were held on May 26 using ballot papers. Polling recorded a turnout of 63.94%.
A total of 7,554 candidates contested the elections, while candidates in 80 of the 1,977 wards were elected unopposed.
Reacting to the results, Mann claimed Punjabis had “swept out” the Congress, SAD and BJP, saying the verdict reflected people’s faith in AAP’s governance model, including free electricity, healthcare, education and employment initiatives.
“The BJP could not save its deposits on more than 1,000 seats. Despite creating so much hype, it has ended up in fifth position in these elections,” Mann said.
He also asserted that the civic poll verdict showed AAP was on course to outperform its 2022 Assembly election performance in the 2027 polls.
“Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP, which I call the ED party, together could not even reach the number of seats won by the AAP,” he said.
Punjab Congress chief Raja Warring, however, alleged misuse of power and official machinery by the ruling party during the elections.
“It was their stated policy of ‘saam, daam, dand, bhed’ that was nakedly displayed during the municipal elections across Punjab,” he alleged.
Warring claimed the results did not reflect the actual public mood in the state and maintained that the real political battle would be fought in the 2027 Assembly elections.
“I reaffirm and reiterate that the AAP will not win even ten seats in 2027,” he said, describing the ruling party’s victory celebrations as “stolen glory” with “an expiry date of February 2027”.
