Punjab Municipal Election Results 2021: Congress sweeps local body polls, Bathinda to get 1st Cong mayor in 53 years

New Delhi: Congress party on Wednesday made a clean sweep in the elections held for seven Municipal Corporations in the state while BJP has turned out to be big loser.

The grand old party has bagged all the municipal corporations– Moga, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Pathankot, Abohar, Batala and Bathinda.

The outcome of these elections is significant as it comes on the back of the ongoing farmers protests at Delhi’s borders for more than 2 months now. BJP and Akali Dal fought separately, breaking alliance in many years while for Congress, it was a battle of prestige and being the voice of people.

Bathinda has long been an Akali Dal stronghold and with Congress snatching it from Akalis shows its growing presence and connect with people on the ground.

The Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency is represented by Harsimrat Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which only recently parted ways with long-time ally BJP following the Centre’s green signal to farm laws.

Bathinda to have its first Congress mayor in 53 years, says Punjab Finance Minister

Thank you to all contestants who kept the flame of democracy bright and burning.

We stand committed in working together for the development of Bathinda and ensuring a better future for our residents. pic.twitter.com/N7Y2xMahO3

— Manpreet Singh Badal (@MSBADAL) February 17, 2021

Congress MLA and state finance minister, Manpreet Singh Badal, who represents Bathinda urban assembly seat congratulated the party workers and claimed that Bathinda will have its first mayor in 53 years.

Badal tweeted, “History has been made today! Bathinda will get a Congress Mayor for the first time in 53 years! Thank you to all Bathinda residents. Congratulations to the people of Bathinda for a spectacular victory. Kudos to all Congress candidates and workers, who toiled for this day.”

The counting of votes started at 9 am for elections to 2,302 wards of 8 municipal corporations and 109 municipal councils in the state. Over 70 per cent voting was recorded in the civic body elections on February 14. A total of 9,222 candidates were in the fray, of which 2,832 were independents, 2,037 from the ruling Congress and 1,569 from the Shiromani Akali Dal. The BJP, AAP and the BSP had fielded 1,003, 1,606 and 160 candidates respectively.

The BJP and the Akali Dal, which walked out of the National Democratic Alliance last year over the farm laws issue, have fought the elections separately.