Cong sweeps civic polls in Punjab, SAD-BJP cries foul

Chandigarh: Ruling Congress on Sunday swept the three municipal corporations of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala while the opposition SAD-BJP alleged misuse of official machinery.

The Congress virtually swept the wards in the three important corporations as results were out by late evening, prompting celebrations in the ruling camp.

The results come as a boost for the Amarinder Singh led government in the state. The opposition alliance, however, alleged gross poll code violations and demanded countermanding of the Patiala corporation elections. Polling was also held in 29 municipal councils and nagar panchayats on Sunday, amid tight security arrangements.

Among the three municipal corporations, Patiala registered the highest poll percentage of over 62.22 per cent followed by Jalandhar at 57.2 and Amritsar at 51 per cent while the voting percentage in the municipal councils and nagar panchayats ranged between 60-86 per cent.

In Patiala, the Congress won 58 wards while the opposition failed to open account. In Jalandhar, 66 wards fell into the Congress’s kitty followed by 8 which went to BJP and four to their ally SAD. In Amritsar, Congress won 69 while 12 went to the SAD-BJP alliance.

The voting started at 8 AM and continued till 4 PM, a spokesman of the state election commission said. Tight security arrangements were made to ensure fair and free polling, which by and large remained peaceful barring a stray incident, officials said.