Landslide victory for Congress in Ludhiana MC polls

The Congress swept the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation election by winning 62 out of 95 wards, the results of which were declared on Tuesday.

The BJP-SAD alliance won 21 seats and Lok Insaf Party led by MLA Simmerjit Singh Bains won 7 seats whereas independents bagged four seats, an election office spokesperson said.

For the first time AAP which contested 31 seats opened its account when its one-woman candidate was declared elected from ward no-11, he said. The election for Ludhiana MC was held on February 24.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has hailed the Ludhiana MC results as a "clear vindication of the Congress government's policies and an endorsement of the pro-people initiatives undertaken by it in the past one year".

In a statement welcoming the poll results, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar and Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also lauded the performance of the party in the MC polls, which they said marked the total annihilation of the opposition parties in the state.

While the chief minister congratulated the party workers and leaders, including Cabinet minister, Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, and Ludhiana MP, Ravneet Bittu, for steering the sweeping victory for the Congress, Jakhar said it had once again underscored the faith that the people of Punjab had in Amarinder's leadership.

Amarinder termed the victory as a "befitting reply by the people of Punjab to the misdeeds and fabrications of the opposition, which had been trying to mislead them with baseless allegations against the Congress government". Opposition SAD-BJP and AAP had accused the ruling Congress of rigging the polls.

He described the results as the "proverbial last nail in the political coffins of SAD, AAP and other parties in the fray". Sidhu welcomed the three independents who had extended support to the Congress.

With the AAP being reduced to a single seat, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) relegated to a poor second, winning just 11 out of 55 seats contested, and the BJP losing all but 10 of the 47 seats contested, it was clear that the political antics of these parties since their defeat in the Assembly polls a year ago had failed to impress the people, Jakhar said.

Meanwhile, the Congress high command has also lauded the party's victory in the MC polls and congratulated Amarinder Singh, for it.