AAP celebrates as it wins over 690 wards, counting of votes for civic polls underway
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has won over 860 of the 1,977 wards and is leading in many others even as counting of votes
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has won over 860 of the 1,977 wards and is leading in many others even as counting of votes for the civic body elections in Punjab is under way on Friday (May 29, 2026). The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers started holding celebrations by exchanging sweets and dancing to the beats of ‘dhol’ with AAP leader Manish Sisodia thanked voters for reposing faith in party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in these polls. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed happiness at AAP winning a “sizable number of wards” and leading in many others in the civic body elections, saying people have defeated the “opposition’s politics of hatred” and supported the ruling party’s developmental politics.
Addressing mediapersons, Mr. Mann commented on the results and trends available, and said: “People of Punjab have defeated politics of hatred and supported developmental politics. They have rejected parties which indulge in divisive politics.” He said the people have supported developmental works carried out by AAP dispensation. Mann said these were not the first elections since AAP rode to power in 2022 securing a massive win in the Assembly polls. He said AAP secured victories, be it the panchayat polls, Assembly bypolls or the Lok Sabha by-election. The vote counting began at 8 a.m. on Friday (May 29) amid tight security arrangements, officials said. Elections to 102 municipal bodies comprising 1,897 wards across eight municipal corporations — Mohali, Bathinda, Abohar, Barnala, Kapurthala, Moga, Batala and Pathankot — along with 75 municipal councils and 19 nagar panchayats were held using ballot papers on May 26, recording a turnout of 63.94 per cent.
Seen as crucial for AAP, BJP, Congress and SAD, the major political parties in Punjab, ahead of the next year’s assembly polls, 7,554 candidates were in the fray for the local body elections. Out of 1,977 wards, candidates in 80 wards were elected unopposed. Also Read: Punjab politics is entering a volatile phase before the 2027 Assembly election “People of Punjab have replied to the ‘ED party’ (BJP). ‘ED politics’ will not work in Punjab,” *Mr. Sisodia said, claiming that 1,142 candidates of the BJP have forfeited their security deposits. Reacting to the poll outcome so far, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the people of Punjab have given their stamp of approval to the AAP government’s work. People have shown the mirror to the opposition parties, he further said.
He further said civic polls were held transparently and fairly. The officials said two micro observers have been deputed for each counting centre under the direct supervision of the general observer for that district. Entry into the counting hall is restricted only to the authorised persons, they said. Earlier, the Opposition parties had accused the AAP government of misusing official machinery during the elections. The civic polls are seen as a litmus test for the ruling party, which is hoping to retain power in the state in next year’s Assembly polls.
The BriefWire