Amid farmers’ protest, Congress sweeps municipal corporations in Punjab urban body polls, BJP loses all

On the 84th day of the ongoing farmers’ protest acroos the country, the Congress won all seven municipal corporations in the civic polls in Punjab for which results were declared Wednesday, officials said. The counting of votes for yet another corporation will take place on Thursday.

The Congress won in Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Abohar, Batala, Pathankot and Moga.

In Bathinda, the election results were stunning as the city will now have a Congress mayor after 53 years. Bathinda is represented in Lok Sabha by Harsimrat Kaur of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

The Punjab state Minister for Finance & Planning, Manpreet Singh Badal tweeted and congratulaed the Congress party leaders and workers for the huge victory in urban body polls, especially in Bathinda:

The SAD recently parted ways with the BJP when the state’s farmers joined together and launched a protest against the new Farm Laws passed by the BJP-ruled government at the Centre.

The outcome of the elections held against the backdrop of the farmers' agitation against the BJP-led government at the Centre has come as a boost for the Congress, which is also eyeing to win the assembly elections due early next year.

The Shiromani Akali Dal, the Aam Aadmi party and the Bharatiya Janata Party failed to make a mark in the elections for the municipal corporations.

Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar said people have rejected the negative politics of parties like the BJP, SAD and AAP.

We contested on the development agenda. This victory will embolden our workers to work hard, Jakhar told reporters.

The State Election Commission had ordered repolling at two booths for the Mohali municipal corporation. Therefore, the counting for the entire civic body will take place on Thursday.

Over 70 per cent voting was recorded in the civic body elections on February 14.

With PTI inputs