Congress Wins Big In Punjab Municipal Polls

In what may be described as an aftermath of the farmers' protest, the Congress party in Punjab has swept the state local body polls, winning 7 out of 8 municipal corporations namely – Bathinda, Abohar, Batala, Moga, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Pathankot.

Notably, as the Punjab state election commission (SEC) ordered repolling in two wards, the results for the eighth corporation, Mohali, will be announced on Thursday.

The Abohar Municipal Corporation was near-perfect for the Congress, with the party winning 49 out of 50 wards, with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) winning one. The SAD is a former ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose government at the Centre passed three contentious farm laws last September, leading to protests by farmers belonging mostly to Punjab and the neighbouring state of Haryana.

After the farmer's protest that ignited massive protests, former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal's party announced its split from the BJP.

In Moga, Congress won 20 wards and SAD 15. The remaining 15 were split among the BJP, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the independents. Punjab's ruling party also won 41 and 37 wards in Hoshiarpur and the BJP's bastion of Pathankot respectively. Meanwhile, in Bathinda, the Congress won 43 out of 50 wards, with the other seven going to the SAD.

Moreover, for the first time in 53 years, Bathinda will get a Congress mayor. Congress leader and Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal tweeted on the same.

"History has been made today. Bathinda will get a Congress Mayor for the 1st time in 53 years! Thank you to ALL Bathinda residents," he tweeted.

According to reports, the Congress has also been victorious in both the Kapurthala and Batala municipal corporations.

The Congress party has been backing the farmers' agitation against the central farm laws since the beginning. The municipal corporation results come as a huge boost for the Congress ahead of next year's assembly elections in Punjab.