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Officials said the complete results have not been declared yet as counting of ballot papers is still underway.
As per the trends and results declared so far, AAP has emerged ahead in most of the Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samiti constituencies. Congress stood second, followed by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
In the district councils, AAP won in over 60 areas, while Congress won in over 10 areas, SAD in three, BJP in one, and independent candidates in two.
The ruling party was ahead in more than 1,000 areas in panchayat samitis, followed by Congress in more than 250 areas, Shiromani Akali Dal in more than 170 areas, BJP in more than 25 areas and others in 65 areas.
Voting was held on December 14 to elect members from 347 areas of 22 district councils and 2,838 areas of 153 panchayat samitis.
SAD won in some key blocks, including Mehal Kalan in Barnala, where its candidate Jaswinder Kaur defeated AAP’s Swarnjit Kaur. Mehal Kalan block includes Kurar which is the ancestral village of AAP MP Gurmeet Singh Mithayer.
It also won Jagdev Kalan block in Amritsar, which is the native village of AAP MLA and former minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal.
Shiromani Akali Dal also emerged victorious in Sandhwan Block Committee, the native seat of Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan.
AAP Punjab president and cabinet minister Aman Arora said the results declared so far reflect the faith of the people in the ruling party’s governance.
He expressed his gratitude to the people of Punjab for what he termed a “resounding mandate” and unequivocal support of the people-centric policies of the state government. Arora further said that these elections were one of the most peaceful and fair local body elections in recent times.
He said, “With the results coming in continuously, the decisive and unilateral mandate in favor of the Aam Aadmi Party is clearly visible. I congratulate all Punjabis for strengthening democracy and having faith in good governance.”
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Congratulating AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, party leaders, MLAs, candidates and volunteers, he said that this victory is the result of the government’s performance in the last few years and the tireless work of party volunteers at the grassroots level.
“We went to the people’s court over the work done by the AAP government in the last four years. The people of Punjab have put their seal of approval on our governance,” he said.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Waring said he was not surprised by the trends but expressed satisfaction over the performance of his party’s candidates.
In his message to party workers, activists and leaders, the Punjab Congress Committee president congratulated them for “their tenacity and performance against the hostile electoral system imposed on the state by the AAP government”.
“Given the track record of the AAP government with an obedient and compliant administration and police, I am not at all surprised by the results and trends, but I am certainly satisfied with the performance of my party’s candidates despite all odds,” he said.
“The AAP may rejoice at the manipulation and fabrication of these election results, but in real terms, the final countdown has begun”, Waring said, noting that the party would ultimately be shown the door within a year from now.
He also alleged that the ruling party hijacked the electoral process from the very beginning by intimidating opposition party candidates, forcibly preventing them from filing nomination papers, disrupting their campaigns and ultimately influencing the results.
Waring further said that the real battle will be fought during the assembly elections when AAP will not get any support from any compliant administration or police.
He said, like the Lok Sabha elections, when Congress defeated AAP, where it won only three out of thirteen parliamentary seats, this will be repeated in the February 2027 assembly elections.
BJP leader Tarun Chugh also alleged “gross misuse” of government machinery during the counting process by AAP and demanded a fair and transparent process. He said that democratic norms were “blatantly trampled upon”.
He said, AAP MLAs along with their supporters forcibly entered the counting centers early in the morning, stopped representatives of opposition parties and misused the government machinery to manipulate the electoral process.
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Counting of votes started at 8 am in 154 centers across the state. 48% turnout was recorded, with over 9,000 candidates in the fray.
Earlier in the day, SAD workers in Patiala alleged that they were stopped from entering a counting center on Patiala-Nabha Road. SAD leader Jaspal Singh claimed that Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh’s son Rahul Saini was inside the counting centre, while opposition representatives were barred from entry.
Opposition leaders demanded immediate intervention from election officials to ensure a transparent and fair count, saying “continued interference” would undermine public confidence in the democratic process.
Candidates from all major political parties – AAP, Congress, SAD and BJP – contested the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections on party symbols.