Why AAP’s win from behind in Amritsar civic polls could drag it down

Besides, the AAP’s assertion that it had bridged the spread betwixt its numbers and that of the Congress successful the Amritsar civic assemblage with the assistance of Akali Dal councillors is simply a departure from the party’s anti-SAD authorities successful the state.

The bitter warfare of words betwixt the AAP and Congress successful the aftermath of the Amritsar improvement has besides fixed the BJP different accidental to twist the weapon successful the INDIA bloc, of which some the AAP and Congress are members.

The Congress has demanded a repoll, threatened to attack the Punjab and Haryana High Court implicit the result, and compared the concern to what had happened during the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections.

Rivals besides constituent to the discrepancy betwixt the AAP seeking a amusement of hands successful the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation this time, aft past year’s experience, portion insisting connected a concealed ballot successful Amritsar. In Chandigarh, the AAP has 13 councillors to the BJP’s 15. The Congress with 7 councillors has announced enactment to the AAP.

The Supreme Court has appointed an autarkic perceiver for the Chandigarh election, which is to beryllium held connected Thursday.

Civic polls successful respective cities crossed Punjab were held past month. Except for Patiala, the Opposition and Independents gave a pugnacious situation to the AAP throughout. In Jalandhar and Ludhiana, wherever the AAP performed well, it did not get capable seats to guarantee a politician connected its own.

The results successful Amritsar, wherever the AAP won lone 24 of the 85 wards, was peculiarly disappointing for the enactment as, successful past year’s Lok Sabha elections, it had swept each the 7 Assembly segments falling nether the spot with handsome margins.

In 40 Amritsar wards, candidates who fought connected the Congress awesome were winners, portion 4 were won by the SAD. The BJP finished with a tally of 9 councillors portion 8 wards were won by Independents.

Following the elections and a bid of joinings and exits, the Congress tally went up to 41 portion the BJP’s went down to seven. Besides, immoderate BJP councillors and 7 of the 8 Independents were believed to beryllium leaning towards the AAP.

On the time of the elections for mayoral and lawman mayoral posts Monday, the BJP’s 7 councillors staged a walkout. The AAP aboriginal claimed enactment of the 4 SAD councillors, making its tally 37, and said 2 Congress councillors had remained absent, reducing its tally to 39.

AAP authorities president Aman Arora thanked SAD councillors for their “support”. In a property note, the enactment said, “Two Congress Municipal Councillors remained absent, weakening the party’s position. Additionally, the Congress failed to nominate their mayoral candidates, highlighting a deficiency of mentation and interior coordination.”

But some the Congress and SAD denied the AAP’s claims. While the Congress said each its councillors were present, the SAD said nary of its councillors had voted for the AAP. The SAD besides supported the Congress’s assertion that determination was nary voting and that the AAP had simply named its men to the apical 3 posts.

The SAD councillors besides joined the Congress councillors successful protests held aft the gathering to elite the politician and lawman mayors.

There was nary video grounds of the voting, portion the returning officer, Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner Arun Sekhri, has refused to remark connected the matter.

Incidentally, the caller Amritsar Mayor, Karamjit Singh Rintu, utilized to clasp the station for the Congress. Then, successful 2022, conscionable earlier the Assembly elections, helium switched to the AAP.

The AAP’s seeming willingness to articulation hands with the SAD comes connected the backmost of the AAP’s maturation successful the authorities astatine the outgo of mostly the Sukhbir Singh Badal-helmed party. Since it came to power, the AAP has levelled a bid of corruption allegations against the SAD, but failed to beryllium any.

For AAP rivals, the Amritsar improvement is diagnostic of the enactment reverting to each the things it had railed against connected its mode up.

Sukhpal Singh Khaira, the Congress MLA from Bulath, said: “The hijacking of municipal bodies successful Punjab done gross misuse of authoritative machinery, particularly the police, and horse-trading, bribery etc, by the Bhagwant Mann-led authorities successful the authorities has rendered the AAP morally and politically bankrupt. Whatever the allegations Arvind Kejriwal makes regular against the BJP, helium and his cronies are misusing powerfulness overmuch much blatantly and shamelessly successful Punjab. So, what is the quality betwixt the AAP and BJP benignant of politics?”

AAP rivals nexus its tactics to clasp the Amritsar civic assemblage to its “declining” fortunes, pointing to the information that isolated from its mediocre show successful the municipal elections, it had won lone 3 seats successful the Lok Sabha retired of Punjab’s 13 past year.

In Amritsar, the AAP’s section MLAs themselves person been complaining against the neglect of basal facilities contempt the fig of tourists, including international, that sojourn the historical metropolis which is the tract of Sikhism’s holiest shrine. Among the astir vocal is Amritsar North MLA Kunwar Vijay Partap, who has been talking of nonaccomplishment of sewerage, water, garbage and coagulated discarded management.

Asked astir the allegations regarding the municipal posts’ voting, AAP main Aman Arora said: “These are baseless. We won with a majority.”

However, SAD councillor Inderjit Singh Pandori maintained the Opposition complaint that “there was nary voting”. “They conscionable announced their candidates and past announced them arsenic mayor, elder lawman politician and lawman mayor.”

Congress Legislative Party person Partap Singh Bajwa said: “We person informed the precocious bid astir what the AAP has done successful Amritsar. There are different things excessively that cannot beryllium disclosed. We person told the precocious bid that determination is nary request to support immoderate narration with the AAP for the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation either.”

What happened successful Chandigarh

The Congress says what has happened successful Amritsar is astir a repetition of the January 30, 2024, elections to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. At the time, Anil Masih, the returning serviceman known to beryllium affiliated to the BJP, was caught connected CCTV putting a people connected votes of 8 AAP councillors, rendering them defunct.

At the time, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation had 14 BJP and AAP councillors each, 8 of the Congress, and 1 of the SAD.

After the BJP won contempt the supra numbers, the substance went to the Supreme Court. Following the Court’s intervention, Masih tendered an unconditional apology. The Court subsequently declared AAP-Congress campaigner Kuldeep Kumar the mayor.