AAP wins most wards in Punjab local polls, Opposition alleges misuse of govt. machinery

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab on Friday (May 29, 2026) won a majority of seats in the State’s civic body elections, even as opposition parties alleged that the ruling dispensation had misused the government machinery to tilt the results in its favour.

According to the Punjab State Election Commission, of the 1,977 wards, the AAP won 954, the Congress won 390, Independents secured 251, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won 191, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 170 and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) seven, till the filing of this report.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the AAP’s victory in the municipal elections was a decisive endorsement of his government’s development-driven governance model. “Punjabis have swept out the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP,” he added.

BJP leader, and Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing, Ravneet Singh Bittu said the entire focus of the AAP was on defeating the BJP by any means. “From canceling the nomination papers of BJP candidates to stuffing fake votes through ballot boxes, the government spared no effort in strangling democracy,” he said.

Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said the Congress put up a brave fight against the AAP, accusing the ruling party of abusing power and misusing official machinery during the municipal elections.

“It was their stated policy of ‘saam, daam, dand, bhed’ that was nakedly displayed during the municipal elections across Punjab,” he said, referring to the abuse of power by the ruling party.

He said, despite misusing the government machinery, the AAP could not cross the halfway mark even in terms of total wards. “The AAP may celebrate the ‘stolen glory’ of municipal elections, but the celebrations will prove quite short-lived with an expiry date of February 2027,” he said.

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SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said that despite widespread suppression by the AAP, the people of Punjab have clearly shown where their faith lies. “This is a powerful message. A free and fair Assembly election will witness AAP being rejected completely and the victory of Shiromani Akali Dal,” he said.

Elections were held using ballot papers on May 26 for 102 municipal bodies across eight municipal corporations – Mohali, Bathinda, Abohar, Barnala, Kapurthala, Moga, Batala and Pathankot – along with 75 municipal councils and 19 nagar panchayats. A voter turnout of 63.94% was recorded.