New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) Punjab’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is falling short of a four-digit number in the local urban body election where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appears poised to have its Mayor and Chairman elected in many municipal bodies, according to BJP leader Amit Malviya.

“BIG HIGHLIGHTS: AAP falls short of the 1,000 mark in the Punjab Urban Local Body elections. The BJP will have its Mayor and Chairman in multiple municipal bodies,” he said on social media platform X on Friday.

Malviya is the BJP’s National Executive member and also in-charge of party’s IT department.

Counting of votes began early Friday amid tight security arrangements after polling was held on May 26 using ballot papers.

“A total of 7,555 candidates is in the fray for various Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats across the state,” reports said.

The ruling AAP nominated 1,801 candidates, Congress 1,550, BJP 1,316, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) fielded 1,251 contestants for the civic body elections, reports added.

“The deep dive: Punjab’s local body election trends over the last decade tell a fascinating political story,” Malviya claimed in an X post.

According to the BJP leader, this is the first time in 11 years that a ruling party in Punjab has failed to cross the 1,000-seat mark in local body elections.

He claimed of “a series of serious allegations raised by the Opposition during the poll campaign”.

The BJP leader claimed that in the 2015 local body election, 1,060 SAD candidates, 360 of the BJP, and 356 from Congress registered victories, among others, who numbered over 400.

“The SAD-BJP alliance looked dominant, yet it went on to lose the Assembly Elections,” he said.

“In 2021, the Congress surged ahead with 1,432 wins, while the SAD got 284, BJP 59, AAP 69, and Independents 364,” he noted.

“Congress appeared unbeatable but lost the very next Assembly Elections,” Malviya said.

“Now look at 2026: (1,941 out of 1,977 seats declared) AAP: 945, INC: 380, SAD: 191, BJP: 169, BSP: 7, Independents: 249,” he wrote.

“Opposition candidates alleged that several nominations were rejected on technical grounds, while 63 AAP candidates were elected unopposed after no rival nominations were filed in those wards. Congress and other opposition parties also accused AAP MLAs of intimidating Opposition supporters during the elections,” Malviya claimed.

He stressed that there were other allegations of misuse of the state police and administrative machinery by the AAP government where “Reports of booth capturing and violence against Opposition candidates also emerged from several areas during polling,” he added.

According to Malviya, AAP “remained below the symbolic 1,000-seat mark, reflecting visible anti-incumbency against the Bhagwant Mann government”, though it enjoyed “the advantages of incumbency and the state machinery”.

He criticised the Congress for appearing “directionless”, adding that SAD has still not fully recovered politically.

“Amid this churn, the BJP’s performance stands out,” he said, adding, “In 2021, the BJP had fought the local body elections independently and won 59 wards. In 2026, once again contesting without any alliance support, the BJP has already crossed 169 wards, an increase of 110 wards in just five years.”

In his words, the BJP has “performed beyond expectations despite lacking both administrative backing and alliance arithmetic”, and indicated “Punjab’s political churn has begun and the saffron surge is loading”.

–IANS

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