Chandigarh: The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance made a clean sweep in the municipal election in Punjab Sunday winning four municipal corporations, three municipal councils and 26 nagar panchayats, an official said. Stray incidents of violence, including a firing incident in Ludhiana city, and clashes between Akali Dal and Congress workers were reported at some places. Tension prevailed in Patiala city, 80 km from here, as Congress and Akali Dal workers clashed. One person was critically injured in a firing incident on the outskirts of Ludhiana city.
Results of the election, polling for which was held Sunday 8 a.m.-4 p.m., were declared late in the evening.
Akali Dal secretary Daljit Singh Cheema said that the Akali DAl-BJP combine had swept the municipal elections in the state. He said that the alliance was the winner in the four municipal corporations, three municipal councils and 26 nagar panchayats’ elections. He said that the alliance had a comfortable majority in all civic bodies. The results again showed the domination of the alliance, which had won the January assembly polls, and the decimation of the Congress in Punjab’s electoral politics.Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh said that the elections were “a murder of democracy”. He said that the Akalis wanted to win at any cost and resorted to foul means like booth capturing etc. (IANS)
