As Congress wins Punjab civic polls, Chidambaram questions Centre on farm laws' popularity

The Congress on Wednesday swept the urban body polls in Punjab, winning six municipal corporations, emerging as the largest party in the seventh and bagging most of the 109 municipal council and nagar panchayats. The party led by CM Captain Amarinder Singh won Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Abohar, Batala and Pathankot corporations in the civic polls on February 7, held against the backdrop of the farmers' protest over the new agriculture reform laws. 

The Opposition was defeated also in the simultaneous polls for 109 municipal council and nagar panchayats. Out of the 1,817 wards at that level, the Congress won 1,102. The SAD won 252, the AAP 51, the BJP 29 and the Bahujan Samaj Party 5. Independents got 374. Mohali too went to the polls but the counting for that corporation will take place Thursday, delayed because of a repoll at two booths.

Altogether, 9,222 candidates contested the polls to the eight municipal corporations and 109 municipal councils. The Congress fielded 2,037 candidates, the SAD 1,569, the BJP 1,003, the AAP 1,606 and the BSP 160. As many as 2,832 were independents. The voter turnout was over 70%. The elections, originally scheduled last year, were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Punjab CM hails party's victory

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh hailed the party's victory in the state municipal polls as not just a validation of his government's "development-oriented policies and programmes but also a total rejection of the anti-people actions" of the major opposition parties- Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP. 

Congratulating Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar, as well as all MLAs, members and workers of the party, for the sweeping victory in the civic polls, the results of which were declared on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said the people of the state had clearly and unequivocally denounced the divisive, undemocratic, unconstitutional and regressive agendas of the three parties.

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"The first major polls to be held in Punjab since the enactment of the draconian Farm Laws had also underscored people's angst with the BJP, which was responsible for the anti-farmer legislation with the active support of its former ally, the SAD, and the collusion of ruling AAP in Delhi," Singh said, according to a release by the Chief minister's Office.

Meanwhile, Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday asked whether the Modi government still believed that farm laws are popular and only a small section of farmers of Punjab are protesting against them. "The farmers are voters. So are migrant workers, MSMEs, the unemployed and the very poor families. When it is their turn, they will vote against the BJP like the Punjab voters," he tweeted.

"The MEA is fast losing credibility by becoming the Ministry of Extraordinary Apologists for the government's wrong domestic policies," he also said.

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(With agency inputs)