MC election results a mixed bag for ruling AAP

IN AMRITSAR, THE PARTY IS 6 SHORT OF A MAJORITY, WHILE IT NEEDS SUPPORT OF THREE COUNCILLORS IN PHAGWARA

- Navrajdeep Singh

CHANDIGARH: The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab is set to install its mayors in Patiala, where it has gained a clear-cut majority, and Jalandhar, where four opposition councillors and two independents have extended their support. Overall, in five municipal corporation elections, the party has won 179 wards out of a total 368 that went to polls. Election in seven wards of Patiala was deferred after high court orders.

In Ludhiana, AAP has emerged as the single largest party with 41 councillors in the 95-member House. One independent councillor has already extended support to AAP, while the Congress and the BJP are trying to patch up an alliance to keep AAP away.

The party got a clear-cut majority in Patiala, where it won 43 seats out of 53 wards that went to polls. However, in Amritsar, it won 24 seats in the 85-member House and in Phagwara, the party won 12 wards out of 50. The saving grace for the party is the municipal councils and notified area committees, where it registered a majority in 31 civic bodies out of 41 where the polls were conducted. The Congress party won on eight bodies and BJP on two, bucking the trend wherein the party running the government generally sweeps the civic polls.

AAP Punjab unit president Aman Arora, who along with chief minister Bhagwant Mann has extensively campaigned for the polls, said: "Overall AAP's performance was satisfactory as the party won 55% of seats in the entire elections in 46 civic bodies." According to Arora, 15% of independent candidates have won which shows fairness. "The three political parties - Congress, BJP and SAD could win only 30% of seats," he said.

CHANDIGARH: Even though the Congress leadership has been upbeat ever since the civic body elections came, it has in fact lost ground in the majority of urban areas.